Camera phones help ambulance staff assist patients almost instantaneously

camera phone
(Image credit: Ian Taylor on Unsplash)

Camera phone technology is now helping an ambulance service in the UK to assist their patients virtually. The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is now asking 999 callers to use their's handset's camera to help the clinician assess the patient's illness or injury. 

With the caller's permission, the service sends through a text that includes a link to set up a livestream from the caller's camera phone. The GoodSAM Video consultation platform enables the clinician to see the patient on their screen. 

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Louise Carey

With over a decade of photographic experience, Louise arms Digital Camera World with a wealth of knowledge on photographic technique and know-how – something at which she is so adept that she's delivered workshops for the likes of ITV and Sue Ryder. Louise also brings years of experience as both a web and print journalist, having served as features editor for Practical Photography magazine and contributing photography tutorials and camera analysis to titles including Digital Camera Magazine and  Digital Photographer. Louise currently shoots with the Fujifilm X-T200 and the Nikon D800, capturing self-portraits and still life images, and is DCW's ecommerce editor, meaning that she knows good camera, lens and laptop deals when she sees them.