Ambulance Tasmania - GoodSAM Partnership

You can apply to become a GoodSAM responder if you are: 

• 18 years of age or over, and
• Willing to provide hands-only CPR and/or operate an AED.  

Responders may be off-duty emergency service personnel, healthcare professionals, or any member of the community. While First Aid certification is not required, it is encouraged. You are responsible for maintaining your CPR knowledge and skills, noting that the Triple Zero (000) call-taker can guide you in relation to patient care until the ambulance arrives.

GoodSAM responders are covered under the Civil Liability Act 2002, section 35b Protection of good Samaritans.  

STEP 1

APPLY: Complete the Ambulance Tasmania Application Form

The registration process requires photo identification, uploaded as a JPG. Please provide as follows:

• A Working with Vulnerable People certificate if you have a current one, otherwise 
• A current driver’s license, passport, or government work ID.

Registered healthcare professionals also need to provide Registration Body/Registration Number.
You will also need to read and agree to the GoodSAM Code of Conduct (Terms and Conditions), noting we will send you a copy after processing your application.

Tip: Register BEFORE downloading the GoodSAM app. Don’t download the app first and try to register via the app, as you will not be completing the Ambulance Tasmania specific form.
Tip: Use an internet browser and go directly to www.goodsamapp.org/TAS. This link takes you to the Ambulance Tasmania GoodSAM application, which will streamline the registration process.
Tip: Take note of the password you enter on the application form as you will need it to log in later.

STEP 2

VERIFY: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email asking you to verify your email address. Check your spam or junk folder if you don’t receive it.

STEP 3

DOWNLOAD: Download the GoodSAM app on your mobile phone from the Apple or Google Play store. Make sure you are downloading the correct app (this icon) -

STEP 4

SIGN IN: Ambulance Tasmania will process your application and you will receive an email with instructions for completing account set-up and setting up your mobile phone to receive alerts. 
Ensure your mobile phone has Location Services turned on. Follow the instructions.

As a responder you are under no obligation to accept an alert, and can decline an alert at any time, for any or no reason, including after accepting the alert. Ambulance personnel are always on the way. 
We would, however, ask the following:

• Please decline as soon as possible so that other nearby responders can be alerted.
• Please decline if you are not in a fit state to attend. If your ability to provide care could be impacted by the influence of alcohol, fatigue, prescription medication or other drugs and substances, you must not respond.

You can respond with your own AED; simply select ‘I have a defibrillator’ from the Actions screen on the GoodSAM app when responding to an alert, so that we know you are responding with your AED.

If you collect a nearby AED, please return it to its location again afterwards.
If you cannot remember the location, ask the ambulance crew to assist you. They can contact the Ambulance Tasmania GoodSAM Team to find the location based on the unique identifier on the label attached to the AED. 

Note that the Feedback Report available from the app post attendance at a cardiac arrest incident asks about an AED used at scene. It can be helpful to take a photo of the AED label so you can provide this information when you complete the Feedback Form.

While Ambulance Tasmania will endeavour to assess safety via the Triple Zero (000) call, the scene can be different to what was described, or it can change suddenly. 

Always assess the scene when you arrive and do not enter a situation where you believe there may be a risk to your safety. Indicate that you are not proceeding by selecting Drop the Call from the Actions screen on the GoodSAM app. 

If a serious safety risk is identified, find a safe location and phone Triple Zero (000) for assistance.

Support is provided as follows:

• If you are querying whether your application has been processed/approved, contact the Ambulance Tasmania GoodSAM Team at [email protected]
• If you are having trouble with the email instructions for setting up your GoodSAM account, contact the Ambulance Tasmania GoodSAM Team at [email protected]
• If you are having issues downloading the GoodSAM app or setting up your mobile phone to receive alerts, first check the troubleshooting guide
  If your issue isn’t resolved, email GoodSAM at [email protected]
• If you want to raise any issues regarding a cardiac arrest incident that you attended, including requesting a welfare check, complete the post incident Feedback Form from the GoodSAM app.
  Please note that Ambulance Tasmania will also contact you directly after each incident you attend. 

Important: If you need assistance with CPR or defibrillation while attending a cardiac arrest incident, call Triple Zero (000) and advise the call-taker that you are a GoodSAM responder and provide the location of the incident. You will be transferred to a clinician who can help you until the ambulance arrives.  

It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the GoodSAM app prior to your first alert. From the app:

• Check for Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) near your location on the Map screen.
• Manage settings, such as alert settings, from the Me screen.
• Use the Simulate Alert feature to send a test alert to your phone to see how you will receive details of a cardiac arrest incident near your location. 
  • Tap Simulate Alert and wait for the screen to pinpoint your location and the simulated incident location on the map. Tap Accept to see how you would receive the details of the incident. This won’t create a real alert. You can simulate an alert as many times as you want to.
  • From an accepted alert, check out the Actions screen. There are status update buttons here that you can select to send a status update back to the ambulance service while responding; ‘On scene’, ‘With patient’, and ‘I have a defibrillator’. It doesn’t matter if you forget to select the statuses. 
  • You can also select Drop the call from here to indicate that you are no longer proceeding to the incident. 
  • The Chat feature allows you to communicate with other responders who may also have been alerted to the incident. It can be useful to organise who is collecting a nearby AED, for example. You will see other responders moving towards the incident location on the map view.
    Please note: the Chat feature does NOT send communications to the ambulance service.

You will receive an alert when:

• A Triple Zero (000) call indicates a patient is in cardiac arrest, and the scene is deemed safe for responders to perform CPR and/or defibrillation AND
• You are one of 3 responders within 500 metres of the incident location for urban areas or one of 4 responders within 5 kilometres of the incident location for rural areas.

Note: You will not be sent to excluded locations such as prisons.  

Updates or cancel information
If you have accepted an alert, and then Ambulance Tasmania become aware of new details about the incident (e.g. additional location or patient info), you will receive an update message on the Chat screen.
If Ambulance Tasmania become aware of safety issues at the scene, or if the location changes completely, you will receive a cancel message. Do not proceed when a cancel message has been issued, as it likely is not safe to do so. 
If the location has changed but you are still one of the nearby responders, you will receive a new alert. 

What if I don’t want to receive alerts for a while?
If you don’t want to receive alerts at any stage, logout of the app by selecting Log Out at the bottom of the Me screen. Remember to log back in when you are available again. 

Travelling interstate
If you leave the app on and are set to ‘available’, you will be alerted while in another Australian State or territory, based on your vicinity to a cardiac arrest location. If you don’t want to be alerted, simply select Log Out at the bottom of the Me screen. Remember to log back in when you are available again.

When you receive an alert, your phone will sound your selected notification (unless ‘Critical Alerts’ are off on iPhone, or it’s in silent mode on Android and ‘Override Silent’ is disabled within the app). 

The app doesn’t need to be open in the foreground, but it needs to be signed in and running in the background, with access to location services enabled (for us to geolocate you against any incoming emergency calls).

From the Me screen, ensure Report on duty is set to on and that Show me on the map is also set to on. Adjust your location accuracy slider for a more accurate representation of your movements on the map. 

Note that the higher the location accuracy slider is set, the more battery intensive the GPS locating is. Therefore, there is a trade-off between location accuracy and phone battery. If you are not moving around a lot, you could lower the location accuracy, and/or set it higher when accepting an alert so that your location accuracy on the map (also seen by the ambulance service) is greater.

When an alert is received, follow the steps below:

STEP 1

Accept or reject the alert: Decide whether you can accept the alert i.e. are not currently engaged in your day-to-day job, or impaired by alcohol, medication, drugs, or suffering from an illness, or otherwise unavailable. 
If you reject the alert, another responder will be notified.

STEP 2

Check incident details: Once you accept the alert, basic details of the incident appear on the Chat screen. This screen also notifies you of any updates to the incident and tells you if other responders have accepted the alert, allowing you to communicate with them as needed. 
You do not need to type a message to let us know you are responding (chat is between you and the other responders, not the ambulance service). 
Accepting the alert will automatically tell us you are responding. 
Note that incident details will disappear from this screen once the incident is closed, or your help is no longer required (i.e. the incident is cancelled).
If available, take your AED and personal protective equipment. However, do not delay getting to the incident based on locating these items. It is more important to go directly to the patient and provide hands-only CPR, which can be done safely without any other equipment. 

STEP 3

Proceed to the patient: The Map screen will show you the location of the patient (SOS) and any nearby AEDs. If an AED is easily available, collect it on your way to the patient. 
The Map screen shows the fastest route to the patient. Avoid driving where possible, especially in metropolitan areas. If you need to drive, obey speed limits and road rules.
Monitor for any cancellation message while making your way to the location, noting that Ambulance Tasmania also endeavour to call your mobile phone if the alert needs to be cancelled.

STEP 4

Assess the scene: When you arrive, take a moment to assess the scene. If there are obvious hazards or you feel unsafe, leave without assisting. To do this, go to the Actions screen and select Drop the call. This will inform the ambulance service.
If a serious safety risk is identified, find a safe location and phone Triple Zero (000) to alert us to the issue.

STEP 5

Introduce yourself: Introduce yourself to bystanders or family members as a GoodSAM responder. Explain that Ambulance Tasmania has alerted you to a cardiac arrest, and that an ambulance is also on its way.
If bystanders or family members reject your help, please use your judgement. Don’t put yourself at risk by asserting yourself into a situation where help is not accepted. 

STEP 6

Perform CPR and/or defibrillation: The Ambulance Tasmania call-taker will be on the phone with the person who rang Triple Zero (000). Call-takers are trained in the provision of CPR instructions to bystanders and will stay on the line until the ambulance arrives. If you require any assistance at the scene, they will support you.

Use the GoodSAM app metronome (set to 120) within the Actions screen to guide CPR rate if needed. CPR can be safely carried out with a hands-only approach, without rescue breaths. 

STEP 7

Handover to Ambulance Tasmania crew: When Ambulance Tasmania crews arrive, they will take over care of the patient. Describe to them how you found the patient and what you have done to care for them. 
If asked to do so, you can choose to continue to assist with ongoing resuscitation efforts under the leadership and guidance of emergency ambulance personnel. Otherwise, you are encouraged to leave the scene as soon as possible once patient care has been transferred to emergency ambulance personnel.
If you collected an AED on your way to the patient, please return it to its location. 
Ambulance Tasmania will advise the AED owner that their AED was used.

STEP 8

Post incident follow-up: You can choose to complete the Feedback Form on the app after attending an incident. We encourage feedback on the specifics of an incident or on the GoodSAM process/program in general. The Feedback Form allows you to indicate that an AED was utilised, and you can also request a welfare check if required. 

Ambulance Tasmania will endeavour to always check-in with responders after they have attended an incident, and therefore you can also provide feedback at this time.

If you work for Ambulance Tasmania and you are also a GoodSAM responder, please read the FAQs that will likely answer any questions you may have.