Devon Air Ambulance take part in what3words summer campaign

• Devon Air Ambulance, along with other UK emergency services are recommending the free what3words app that can provide callers with their exact location

• This summer 90% of Brits are looking to enjoy outdoor activities, and almost half (47%) are planning to visit new areas of the UK, but many wouldn’t feel confident describing specific locations, causing issues in emergency situations 

• Devon Air Ambulance often use the what3words app to help locate patients in rural parts of the county

Devon is a county made up of stunning, but rural and sometimes dangerous beauty spots like Dartmoor and our incredibly scenic coastal paths that both locals and tourists alike will flock to for their summer adventures. 

This week Devon Air Ambulance (DAA) is working in partnership with what3words to gear up for a busy summer across the county, urging the public to download the free app as a simple way to be prepared, helping them to save vital minutes and resources in emergency situations. 

Brits are truly making the most of the UK and all it offers this summer – thousands say they will be out walking (52%), heading to the beach (42%) and enjoying road trips (24%) across the country. However, new research reveals that Brits aren’t adequately prepared. A staggering three quarters (75%) say they don’t check the traffic or roadworks beforehand, 67% do not research their destination in advance and less than a third (28%) make sure the address they are heading to is accurate. 

Additionally, over half (55%) of respondents said they would rely on their phone’s GPS to help find their way back if they got lost during outdoor activities, yet less than half (45%) make sure they have enough phone battery before heading out, and only a quarter (27%) pack a portable charger. This is cause for concern given 1 in 4 (25%) Brits say they have got lost during an outdoor excursion before.

‘What’s the address of the emergency?’ is one of the first questions asked when calling 999, but describing where help is needed can be difficult and stressful, especially in unaddressed or unfamiliar areas. New research highlighted that many people would struggle to describe meeting points in forests (40%), on country roads (39%) and campgrounds (34%), which could lead to a delay in locating a caller when every minute matters. 

what3words provides a solution and has created a simple way to communicate very precise locations. It has divided the world into a grid of 3 metre squares and given each square a unique identifier consisting of three words: a what3words address. This means that every viewpoint along a hiking trail, stadium entrance, picnic spot in the park and tent on a campground has its own what3words address. For example, ///zapped.interval.toothpick marks the Great Links Tor area of Dartmoor, where former DAA patient, George Bladon required assistance following a fall. Read George’s story here: https://www.daat.org/blog/rock-bottom-to-recovery 

Alex Sanders-Page, Advanced Prehospital Practitioner at Devon Air Ambulance Trust said: 

‘Devon is a unique place with many awesome sights to see. However, it is not always possible to know exactly where you are, especially if you’re exploring places off the beaten track, or only visiting the area. what3words is such a useful tool to get help if you have an incident when exploring our amazing County. Using what3words to find casualties has made our job at Devon Air Ambulance so much easier when trying to find where to locate a patient and send help to. It is also of use in built up areas, as sometimes just knowing what side of a building somebody is can help us decide where to land the helicopter to get to them as quickly as possible.’

The what3words app works offline, making it ideal for use in areas with an unreliable data connection, such as popular summer destinations like festivals, beaches, national parks and campsites. what3words is available in over 60 languages to date, including Welsh. It is free to download on iOS and Android, and can be accessed via the online map at what3words.com

To read more about DAA’s use of the what3words app, visit: https://www.daat.org/News/what-3-words-the-app-that-everyone-is-downloading