New System to Help Accident Victims

Former Midrand firefighter Jo Nieman has spent most of his life serving the public. He has continued his services by launching a revolutionary emergency identification system.

His new venture has been prompted by the common situation where victims of accidents cannot communicate with paramedics at the scene, Nieman says this wastes precious time and also leads to the patient being taken to an inappropriate hospital, or that vital information regarding the patient’s personal health is not obtainable.

After spending many hours at accident scenes as a paramedic, he realised the urgent need for a new system  –  and set about creating one.

After testing his new system in Gauteng for six months, RegAlert has now been launched across the country. A paramedic will arrive at the scene of an accident and SMS the registration of the vehicle or the identity number of the patient through to the control room. The operator will then verify details with the paramedic such as the colour of car or gender of the patient. Once the identity of the injured person has been confirmed, the paramedic will immediately receive an SMS containing details of the patient, such as blood group, medical aid status and important personal medical info.” Nieman says.

“The next of kin or a pre-selected emergency contact person will be notified of the accident and also informed which hospital to go to. The medical aid will also immediately receive an e-mail, lessening paperwork time,” he says. Nieman says the use of air service is also available to the clients, which is vital in serious accidents.

Nieman has seen a phenomenal response from across the country and the service is fully available to the public at a mere R42 a year. “I thought someone else would’ve come up with the idea first. I’ve even received responses from as far afield as East London and Warmbaths.”

Nieman says his primary aim was to come up with a system that was quick, simple and very effective.

“I also hope to eradicate the situation where an ambulance has to drive from hospital to hospital to find one that will accept the patient, which results in a lot of valuable time being lost.” he says.

--Stan Vagionakis, Midrand Review, April 2004