Politics

Students’ app could save a life

A life-saving app developed by three pupils from Suffolk for use in schools across England is now available on the iTunes app store.

The first aid platform, called Fab, short for First Aid Buddy, was devised by year 11 students Gemma Marsh, Ned Nettleton and Alfie Sagon at Ormiston Sudbury Academy. It is designed to be a pocket first aid assistant for children that demonstrates basic triage principles for all minor injuries in a simple, concise and easy to use format.

The app also caters for the inclusion of an emergency number which will alert the parent or guardian of a child at the same time as presenting a first stage treatment synopsis. With a bright colourful interface, the students hope it will be easy to locate on a phone in an emergency.

Fab team member, Gemma says: “I’ve been doing life saving at my local swimming pool for the last eight years and during that time, I have learned basic first aid to be able to deal with incidents like choking, resuscitation and how to deal with different types of casualties.

“I feel it is better for young people to be prepared and know about these things as they can often happen to children and young people.”

The group’s idea was brought to life after Gaia Technologies and Ormiston Academies Trust ran an app development competition across its 27 secondary schools.

Ormiston Sudbury Academy headteacher, Caroline Wilson says: “I am extremely impressed by the app our students produced. They researched rigorously to find a gap in the market of first aid support and supplied an exceptional product to fill that gap.

“They worked hard to perfect the platform, the result being a highly professional tool. We are very proud of their achievement.”

Jon Rashid, head of 3D development at Gaia Technologies, says: “We believed right from the start that this was a well thought-through proposal and were happy to provide technical support throughout the process. Hopefully this will be the first of many more such projects.”

Pic: From left: Alfie Sagon, Gemma Marsh and Ned Nettleton show off their Fab app

 

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