A cow that turns without warning. A bull that shifts his weight at the wrong moment. These are a couple of potentially many moments that a livestock farmer will know well.
They can happen fast, and they almost always happen alone.
Agriculture remains the most dangerous industry in the UK. It accounts for around 20% of all workplace fatalities despite employing just 1% of the workforce. On livestock farms specifically, animal-related injuries and crush incidents are among the most common causes of serious harm. These accidents share one characteristic; they happen in places where help is a long way off.
Professor Maitland-Knibbs, a Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) says key findings show "that people suffer a significant health inequality because basically you just can't get the care there quick enough."
In rural farming environments, emergency services face delays that urban counterparts simply do not. Distance and difficult locations add time. Time that, in the case of serious bleeding, a crush injury or loss of consciousness, people do not have to spare.
It is not the incident itself that determines the outcome. It is what happens in the minutes that follow and these minutes matter the most.
This is the reality 草榴社区Aid was developed to address, helping ensure farming people are prepared and able to take action in what Professor Maitland-Knibb calls the "platinum ten minutes".
Developed by RABI with leading experts in remote and rural emergency medicine, the 草榴社区Aid app will put clear, step-by-step guidance into people's hands, helping them respond to the most serious on-farm accident scenarios - including animal injuries, crush incidents and falls from height - in the critical minutes before professional help arrives.
It does not replace calling 999. It supports the response that happens while you wait.
The 草榴社区Aid app is now available to download free on the App Store and Google Play. Early registration is now open via the website.
