New Police, Fire and Ambulance app pitched to government to solve emergency services delays

New technology which allows people to text lifesaving information and images of incidents to triple-0 has been pitched as a solution to improve long wait times for help.

Joel Eliades, founder of Transport Dispatch Solutions, has designed an app where people can text emergency service dispatchers

Triple-0 dispatchers would get access to a person’s medical history and exact location during an emergency — without even picking up the phone — as part of a new Melbourne-made app which could revolutionise calling for help.

It comes as new software — which allows people to communicate with emergency service dispatchers and provide lifesaving information via text — has been pitched to governments as a solution to long ambulance wait times and ramping issues.

The “Police, Fire and Ambulance” app — developed by Transport Dispatch Solutions founder Joel Eliades — would allow people to choose what service they required and send a text that automatically pulled information from within the app like: a pinned location, the services needed and a link to a profile containing crucial data like medical records and allergies.

Joel Eliades, founder of Transport Dispatch Solutions, has designed an app where people can text emergency service dispatchers. Picture: Athos Sirianos

The user would then be able to communicate with a dispatcher via text through the app, with photos and videos of incidents also able to be sent back and forth between the user and triple-0.

Mr Eliades told the Herald Sun PFA was designed to get help out faster and provide dispatchers with enough information to make a call on how serious an incident was, saving precious time.

“By the time an emergency call taker has received the call they will know what you need,” he said.

“It’s about providing crucial information and cutting down the time of sending crucial information that could take minutes or longer to obtain, which for certain health conditions increases the chance of survival dramatically.

“You send messages through on the app and they know exactly who you want (police, fire or ambulance) so they don’t need to ask you, they’ve already got that before they even respond.

“We can add emergency contacts, you can also have all your medical data in there, what medication you’re on, allergies and blood type — so they can have this profile on you before they even respond.”

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are a leading cause of death in Australia affecting over 30,000 Australians yearly, with the rate of survival dropping 10 per cent per minute without treatment.

Mr Eliades said the app would help save “crucial time” in life and death situations, like cardiac arrests, as well as arming paramedics with lifesaving information about the patient before they arrive.

An example of the initial automated text sent to a triple-0 dispatcher with the press of a button. Picture: PFA app

Last month the Herald Sun revealed a Blackburn man was left bleeding to death despite phoning triple-0 twice, with paramedics arriving to find him dead five hours later.

At the time several ambulances were ramped at nearby Box Hill hospital unable to respond to his call.

Paramedics would get access to lifesaving information about a patient with the new app Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

While users would still be able to make normal calls to triple-0 through the app, Mr Eliades said it provided an alternative for people in situations where they are unable to speak — like victims of domestic and family violence.

“If someone has broken into your house and you’re hiding in a wardrobe and you don’t want to be heard talking on the phone, you can sit there and do all these in-app pushes and get assistance,” he said.

“But the biggest one is domestic violence victims who haven’t been able to call for help because they’re being assaulted or their partner is right there and can’t call for help. Now they can dispatch silently without the perpetrator even knowing what’s going on.”

In addition, once a job was “finished” a notification would pop up on the screen 30 minutes after police have left, asking if there was still a threat.

If so, the same job would be dispatched.

What an emergency services dispatcher would see. Picture: PFA app

While the app could be rolled out without government backing – with the company in talks with other strategic investors – Mr Eliades said the potential could be “far greater” with the extra investment.

“The main goal is to benefit human life and make things easier,” he said.

Moreover, the app also allows users to connect with the emergency service dispatcher of wherever country they were in.

“I broke my back in Greece and didn’t know who to call. If I had an app like this I could’ve pushed one button and got help straight away,” Mr Eliades said.

“Every country has an emergency number as a bare minimum, so we can connect you without you even knowing the number.”

Text conversations on the app can also be translated into different languages.

“If you’re in China you can type in English and the Chinese dispatcher would see it in Mandarin. And then when they respond to you in Mandarin you will see it in English,” Mr Eliades said.

“The same goes for non-English speakers in Australia for example.

“We can then put every language in the world in one app so no matter where we are you can type it in English and know they’re going to reply and it be translated.”

A Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts spokeswoman said “Australians are able to text triple-0” through the National Relay Service in cases of emergency — which was aimed at people who were deaf.

“The National Relay Service is available 24/7 over a variety of different channels including SMS and a dedicated app,” she said.