St John app a lifesaver

Left with a punctured lung, shattered and broken bones after being bucked off her retired race horse, Sue McPartland knew time was against her.

Mrs McPartland wanted to give the horse a new experience by taking it for a ride to a dam on her 76ha Narrikup property.

But the ride turned into a medical emergency which left her in hospital for 10 days.

Hitting the ground in agonising pain, Mrs McPartland could not move her right side from the hip down.

The 59-year-old managed to pull her phone from her left boot, but her husband did not answer her call.

She remembers thinking, “If someone doesn’t find me, I’ll die out here”.

Fortunately, Mrs McPartland had one trick up left her sleeve — the St John First Responder app.

Using the app, she was able to alert emergency services.

The app pinpoints the location of callers using GPS technology.

Mrs McPartland said she downloaded the app a few years ago after being prompted by her husband, Ollie.

“It was just one of those things. I felt if I go down here, off the tracks and in the bush, no one would know where you are,” Mr McPartland said.

After her release from hospital last Thursday, she is encouraging everyone to download the app.

That sentiment is shared with Mrs McPartland by St John transport officer Chris Elliott, one of the first responders on the scene of McPartland’s accident.

“It certainly helps,” Mr Elliott said.

Mr Elliot said the app help speed up response times and save lives, particularly when patients were not entirely sure where they are during emergencies.