PageOne power Red Cross emergency response

PageOne, the UK’s leading provider of wireless messaging solutions to the public and enterprise sectors, has been chosen by the British Red Cross Society in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and the Channel Islands to help streamline and reduce its emergency response time to Emergency Services and Local Authorities during major incidents.With PageOne’s paging system, the British Red Cross is able to respond to emergencies instantly and more effectively. Traditionally, the British Red Cross would have undertaken a phone-round to see which volunteers were available to offer emergency support and then another phone-round to deploy volunteers, which inevitably can lead to time-delays.

A pilot scheme was undertaken by the British Red Cross in the South West to test PageOne’s paging system and prove its resilience and capability to its staff and volunteers. A training package was then produced for experienced staff and volunteers who manage all requests from the emergency services or local authorities.

‘When deciding who to choose we examined the wireless messaging market and PageOne met all our requirements,” said John Blake, Emergency Response Assistant, British Red Cross. ‘During the pilot phase, the paging system was extremely well received from both staff and volunteers who not only saw it as an enabler and invaluable tool in allowing them to respond immediately and effectively, but equally as a ‘First’ for the voluntary sector. We are delighted to report that the Red Cross in now using PageOne on a permanent basis.”

PageOne’s technology has already been used to good effect to alert additional First Aiders during the heavy rains at the recent Glastonbury festival, and, during the summer flooding in Gloucestershire, the system again proved invaluable in mobilising teams to support the evacuation of those flooded and subsequently with distribution of food and water.

PageOne will be exhibiting at the Red Cross Third Annual Emergency Response Conference on October 9th, Bristol. The conference will be attended by the statutory services sector and service suppliers. Attendees will be given the opportunity to listen to guest speakers and share ideas on working towards the best possible practices.