Apps for paramedics

The Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) guidelines are often referred to as the prehospital ‘Bible’. They have been the ‘go to’ guidelines for all UK NHS Ambulance services since 2019, although were first created in the early 2000s, with three annual updates produced since 2013. For those that were in practice in the late noughties, you will recall carrying around a well-weathered JRCALC pocketbook which would be pulled out prior to administration of medications or to check an algorithm. The application (app) is essentially the full guidelines accessed through a reasonably easy-to-use app.

There is clearly a challenge to include such a significant amount of information in an app; at times, it can be difficult to search specific guidance and there can be conflicting information depending on which page you are accessing. However, having used the app since its inception, there has been significant improvement in its usability. It can now also be accessed via a web page on a laptop or as a standalone app accessed on a phone or tablet.