We’re teaching people how to save a life with our app
Over the last few months, I’ve been helping to make changes to our first aid app together with our education team. We originally launched it in 2011 to encourage people to build their skills and knowledge so they feel confident to help in an emergency. Since then it’s been really well received; it’s been translated into 42 languages and there have been over 5 million downloads.
Why we created an app
Accidents and emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere. In your home, on the train, or to someone sitting next to you at a restaurant — you just can’t predict them. We carried out research which found that 70% of us worry that we’ll get it wrong or we’d make things worse if we tried to save a life.
The way people want to learn is changing, with evolving technology, people can now learn a skill or find out information in seconds, they no longer need to sit in a classroom to learn new skills.
Learning on the go, in the queue for coffee or comfortably on the sofa is the new norm. We wanted to make the most of people’s access to technology and so created a free app that can be used at any time.
What’s on the app
The app lets users pick and choose what they want to learn with videos, quizzes and step-by-step guides on a wide range of first aid scenarios, including burns, heart attacks and strokes. Users can test themselves, earn badges and get social by sharing the app and their progress with friends. There’s also an emergency section, which we point users to when they open the app so it’s easy to find during an emergency in order to help people find the information they need quickly.
We’ve given the app a refresh
Over the last few months, the education and digital teams have been working on a major revamp. We’ve updated the content to make sure it’s in line with clinical first aid recommendations and we’ve refreshed the design.
We’ve also brought the app in line with our brand and design guidelines. The previous design had been in place since the app was first launched and some of the icons weren’t accessible, so we’ve updated them too.
Have a look for yourselves and you’ll see how great it looks! You can download it on Google Play and on the Apple Store.
