JellyBean 055 with Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson OBE; Neurosurgeon, Retrieval Physician, App Designer, Volunteer, Sceptic and Gentleman. It is hard act to follow. It is hard not to like this chap.

Mark Wilson somehow found time to talk to Matt McPartlin at SMACC. He really had an awful lot to do in Dublin too. Mark was presenting, fighting, drinking, dancing, facing his PhDemons and listening to @Kangaroobeach, all of which are frankly exhausting. But then he was asking for trouble by being so good at everything and even better at certain sexy media friendly matters.

Mark knows concussion like very few people ever will. He is a neurosurgeon that gets down and dirty in the streets of London with the paramedics as a Retrieval Physician. He invents apps that go huge and actually save people lives. The App is called GoodSAM which may have been inspired by the bible or possibly by the legendary public house literally underneath the helipad at The Royal London Hospital. He has essentially created a way of real-time crowd-sourcing a medic when you really really want one.

I wish I could do that.

Mark is the main person behind the GoodSAM app which has been reviewed by Tessa Davis here on LITFL.

Lots of us have little moments of App inspiration but Mark has done it. It is free so it is genuine #FOAMed. It is also much more in that; it mobilises an entire community of volunteer responders which crosses the divide between clinician and non-clinician. The follow up is interesting too. Mark released this App back in 2014. Being one of the more successful Apps it really didn’t end there. The app is now in version 5. It has a life of its own and Mark still maintains it, updates it, promotes it, fixes it up when problems arise. It is an ongoing concern.

Have a listen to Mark and Matt, have a look at the GoodSAM App and have a think about getting involved.