I am a civil servant. I work with data and technology in digital services. But what got me there, after many years in the private sector, was the time spent volunteering in various first aid organisations.
I enjoy doing first aid at events and responding to 999 calls either as an ambulance crew or community first responder. But sometimes, I think I could help more volunteering with my professional expertise (software, not pre-hospital medicine) rather than just my time.
Our National Health Services use many digital services and systems. That kind of services are what really matters. This is where we should see the latest in software engineering and user-centric design thinking, but from my experience… we are far from it. I want to do something about it.
The last three years have shown that there is a lot of will and determination in people to make things work and to help each other. And so here I am trying to find out if there are people who would like to volunteer some time and their digital skills to save lives (not directly, but still).
It won’t be easy, I imagine. The systems running our health services are not open and not publicly accessible. The data they process is sensitive. But if a group of us is willing to help, we will find a way. I’m sure.
Interested? Get in touch! Let’s talk about it. Do you have a better idea? Then definitely, let’s talk. I want to know about it!
Or have a look at the idea or code on GitHub, something relatively simple to start with, with less red tape to get through. A project to help with first-aid volunteering. Have a look. Let me know what you think.
Michał's Blog 