June 13, 2004
Camera phone test proves a flop for emergency services
A scheme to cut road deaths involving picture messaging from mobile phones has been disapointing so far, reports the Sunday Herald.
"Firefighters in Fife were to send photographs of crash scenes to accident and emergency teams at Dunfermline's Queen Margaret Hospital using equipment provided by telecoms giant Orange. The intention was to give medical teams a chance to view injuries well before patients arrived at the hospital.
However, since its launch in August, the scheme has been beset by problems, including photographs taking hours to arrive on screen, pictures unable to be viewed in focus when enlarged, and fire chiefs with the mobile phones arriving too late at the scene. In one instance, pictures were transmitted to QMH's computer only for the patient to be taken by ambulance to another hospital.
Alan Mann, divisional officer for community safety, with Fife Fire and Rescue Service said: “It was supposed to be a six-month trial but we are still trialling. It's early days . I would like to see us sending better quality pictures and video clips of crashes to hospitals in the future. It's a good concept but perhaps the technology is just not there yet.”
Related article: Firefighters are testing an emergency photo messaging scheme to help save more lives
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