Paramedics recommend that you take ICE with you wherever you go during this Summer Holiday.
ICE, also known as In Case of Emergency led to numerous discussions on the internet not too long ago with mixed feelings from numerous agencies as well as cellular phone users. The Summer Holidays are on our doorstep and it is expected that people will travel across the country either on holiday or to return home. Accidents are a reality and it could happen to anyone at any time.
The basic concept of ICE is where a user programs one or more number under the heading “ICE” in his or her cellular phone in order for paramedics and other emergency personnel to find the number easily as well as to notify a loved one if an emergency that occurred in order to obtain life-saving information.
Some users mentioned that it is a lost cause as paramedics are not trained to look for this as well as not too many people know about this. At ER24 we train our students to actively look on a patient’s cellular phone for the “ICE Contact”. Once the contact was located on the phone, the number will be relayed to our National Emergency Contact Centre where an emergency operator will make contact with the person over a recorded line to obtain possible life-saving information such as allergies, medical background and any other information that might be of assistance to the emergency personnel or hospital.
A user can program more than one number in his contact list under ICE. A simple ICE contact would look something like this: “ICE 1 Brother” followed by a contact number in the directory. For more than one ICE contact, a person can program “ICE 2, ICE 3” on their phones.
We are well aware that cellular phones and other personal belongings are sometimes stolen from the scene of an accident; however we still promote this concept as it might just speak for you when you cannot.
Another point of thought was that people should place their medical aid sticker on the car window. This is not always reliable as windows are most likely to break in an accident. Another concern is that previous owners of the vehicle never removed their medical aid sticker and there is not a definitive way for a paramedic to confirm to whom the sticker belongs to and most likely it does not apply to the passengers in the vehicle.
Also view:
- Fixed Wing Emergency Air Evacuation
- Aerocare, Emergency Medical Air Evacuation and Road Safety
- Helicopter Evacuation
- Emergency Response Time
- Identification of a patient
- CrisisOnCall , Emergency Roadside Assistance and Road Safety
If you are planning to enjoy Cycling this holiday – also consider the following safety product:
Ctrack ICE- In Case of Emergency
