The life-saving Ambulance app, which has more than 1,150,000 Czech users, has now crossed borders to neighboring Hungary, allowing Czechs to use the app in Hungary without worrying about a communication barrier in an emergency.
In the case of an emergency, the Ambulance app not only sends the Hungarian emergency medical services center the exact GPS location of a person in need but also his or her basic medical and personal data listed in the application, including contact persons or information about the battery charge level.
“After the injured person presses the emergency button, a list of the nine most common health problems or injuries appears. When the caller selects one of them, the information is sent to the paramedics along with other information such as location and basic data,” explained Filip Maleňák, who created the Ambulance app in 2016.
“At the dispatch center, duty personnel will know what happened, where it happened, and to whom it happened before any call is made. This will greatly simplify communication and remove the significant language barrier that Czechs may have when communicating in Hungary.”
When crossing the Hungarian border, it is not necessary to change any settings in the app, as it now automatically switches its location status.
The Ambulance app team has also helped create a Hungarian version called ÉletMentő, which will work the same way as the Czech app.
“We are excited about the idea of a joint app that will call for help at home and abroad, and we hope that other European countries will join in at some point,” said Gabor Csato, director of the Országos Mentőszolgálat ambulance service.
In addition to Hungary, Czechs can also use the app in neighboring Austria and the Slovak mountains. In the upcoming years, the founder of the project, Filip Maleňák, would like to expand the app to Croatia, as it is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Czechs.
His team is also in negotiations about extending the app’s services to Romania.
The application is unique in its capability to help find the nearest defibrillator of the 1,650 ones registered in its database.
In some cities, the Ambulance app is also ready to issue warnings to residents in the case of an explosion, natural disaster, or even a dangerous substances leak. It was developed in cooperation with the Czech emergency services and is now used by about 50 people every day.
