RABI has developed the FarmersAid smartphone app, designed to help provide essential care in the case of an on-farm accident. Agriculture accounts to 20% of all work-related fatalities, despite representing just 1% of the national workforce, and the app is designed to guide people through the first ten minutes after an accident, where immediate action can directly influence survival outcomes.
Developed alongside experts in rural emergency medicine, Professor Stuart Maitland Knibb and Professor Cathy Jackson, the app includes ten core scenarios based around the most common incidents on farm, with tailored guidance to protect those who are injured. It also features two core scenarios, where the victim isn’t breathing or has severe bleeding, to enable lifesaving action to be taken before any further steps.
The UI is clear, with large buttons to minimise the risk of mistakes when under pressure, with simple yes/no answers to guide the user. It also works completely offline. Once the patient is stabilised, the app can be used to provide a what3words location and dial 999. Information, including where air ambulances can land, can also be preloaded into the app.
“Serious on-farm accidents can happen in an instant. FarmersAid provides clear guidance in those critical, often chaotic moments that follow,” said Alicia Chivers, chief executive at RABI. “We want to see FarmersAid on as many phones as possible across the farming community. Whether you’re working on a farm every day, supporting family members or employing staff, we’d encourage people to download the app, learn the scenarios and familiarise themselves with it before it’s ever needed.”