The continuing threat of terrorism, the recent civil unrest in Arab countries, floods and other natural disasters coupled with tighter legislation make it absolutely essential that any organisation provides proper Health and Safety information for its employees – particularly those travelling to high risk areas.
Boiling Frog – a brand new travel and health app created by ex-Special Forces and medical experts – could be a first safety step for companies looking to proactively address this issue.
The boiling frog story is a well-known anecdote. If a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump straight out but, if it’s placed in cold water which is slowly brought to the boil, the frog won’t sense the danger it’s in until it’s too late.
In the same way, we can often miss the warning signs when things gradually happen around us that could put us at risk.
The lesson here is to avoid being the boiling frog…
Packed full of practical features
The Boiling Frog app is packed with practical features and encourages people to be prepared, in turn reducing the risk of things going wrong but also helping to minimise the severity, inconvenience and cost if the worst should still happen.
The Duty of Care for employees rests with senior management and, retailing at just GB pound 1.79, the Boiling Frog app looks to be one of the most cost-effective ways of potentially reducing the risk of an incident that could lead to an individual or organisation being found guilty of negligence, breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act or the newly-enacted Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act.
While equipping members of staff with a Boiling Frog may not be deemed to provide a sufficient level of care on its own, it’s certainly a good start and clearly demonstrates the intention to provide employees with useful information covering a wide range of scenarios – all for the price of a greetings card.
Boiling Frog provides advice on everything from travel preparation and how to deal with unwelcome surveillance through to being shot at and minimising the risk of being abducted!
It also deals with all the most common ailments that people suffer from when travelling – from sunburn and food poisoning to malaria.
Combining travel and First Aid advice
Boiling Frog is the first app to combine travel and First Aid advice with a picture dictionary – a handy tool for anyone who doesn’t speak the local language.
The app also allows people to create a personal info section and personalise their own itinerary, packing lists and check lists – making it easy to keep track of all the essential information they need while travelling.
The e-mail functionality on iPhone and Android devices enables you to send your own itinerary and packing lists to friends.
Other features include an audio function (so people can listen to advice while on the move), as well as several short and informative videos illustrating key travel and First Aid tips.
The easy-to-use app provides a step-by-step guide on how to react to everything from a minor accident to a major disaster.
There’s even a quiz designed to test just how prepared and knowledgeable people are before they head out on their journey.
By helping to reduce the risk of both accidents and illness, Boiling Frog will almost certainly pay for itself many times over by helping to ensure business continuity and the well-being of employees when travelling or living overseas.
According to its developers: “No other app provides such accessible travel and safety information”.
Boiling Frog is available at the App Store at www.apple.com. It works on over 100 smartphones (including i-Phones, BlackBerry, Nokia OVI and many other Android phones).
Development team behind Boiling Frog
Hugh Martin is an ex-Special Forces officer who founded Boiling Frog and also co-founded Fox Delta, the company which advises ambassadors, judges and MEPs on travel to remote or dangerous areas around the world.
Ben Soames is an ex-Royal Marine who served in the Gulf War and is an anti-piracy and close protection expert.
As the co-founder of Fox Delta, Soames continues to work in many of the most dangerous parts of the world, helping to ensure the safety of everyone from politicians to senior figures within industry.
Peter King-Lewis is a leading GP with a broad range of medical experience who cares for people of all ages, including babies and children.
As a former doctor in the Royal Navy, King-Lewis was responsible for the emergency and primary care of 400 personnel on extended deployment in foreign waters and has travelled extensively.
Ashley Scott is head of training for the Oxfordshire Ambulance NHS Trust, and also develops medical training programmes for the police service, Oxfam and the fire service.
Scott also served in several countries as a front line soldier, and later as the regimental medic in the Parachute Regiment (and more recently has worked as a medical consultant).
For further information on the Boiling Frog app and a free trial contact Lucy Prichard or Jessica Proudfoot on (telephone) 020 7351 4719 or via e-mail at: [email protected]
