Life-saving first aid tips in the palm of your hands..courtesy of the Red Cross

The ‘First Aid by British Red Cross’ app has been designed to enable members of the public to learn appropriate first aid management, before and during an emergency.1 The British version of the First Aid app has been adapted for use in 76 countries.1

The First Aid app is divided into five sections. The ‘Learn’ section (figure 1) contains easy-to-understand advice for 18 different emergency situations, each presented using key points and animations. Each situation is summarised using 15–30 s video clips, which facilitates different learning styles. To supplement the key points, FAQs are also included for those wanting further knowledge. The ‘Prepare’ section gives detailed advice on being ready to deal with 13 different emergency situations. Advice for essential items for inclusion in a grab bag (first aid kit, whistle and toiletries etc) and 10 tips for coping with most emergency situations are also specified. Interactive checklists are provided along with links to related first aid situations. The ‘Emergency’ section (figure 2) is instantly accessible and gives more concise information than that in the ‘Learn’ section, providing 2–4 key points for each emergency situation. There are also video clips containing visual, textual and audio instructions for each emergency situation. Relevant emergency numbers are included.