Service Model

TraumaLink uses an emergency hotline number and 24-hour call center with local first responders who are trained in basic trauma first aid, given essential medical supplies, and dispatched to crash scenes through mobile phone text message notifications. Volunteers are taught in groups of no more than 15 students on crash scene management, basic trauma first aid, and mass casualty triage with an emphasis on hands-on training from a Bangladeshi physician. The training curriculum focuses on simple lifesaving skills that people with any level of education and no prior medical background can learn and perform.

Our call center, available through a dedicated emergency hotline number, uses a custom-designed graphic user interface (GUI) to rapidly connect injured victims with help. Operators receiving a call first collect information on where the crash occurred and how many patients have been injured. As soon as this information is entered into the GUI, the software automatically dispatches the closest volunteers through text messages to their mobile phones. 

Operators notify police and fire services as needed and volunteers collect first aid kits en route to the crash scene. When patients are ready for transport, operators provide guidance on the nearest hospital capable of treating their injuries. Victims arrive there quickly using local transportation networks that include fire services, police, vehicles for hire, and bystanders.

Establishing a dense network of local volunteers has also helped us to collect detailed data on crashes that is being used to guide road safety improvements, and is being published in academic research papers to broaden the scope of knowledge about road safety and community-based prehospital care in developing nations.