When you dial 999 or 112, you will be put through the the Emergency Services. This call is free, regardless of where you are calling from. A telephone operator will ask you which emergency service you require: "Police", "Fire" or "Ambulance". You may call from a mobile telephone even if the keyboard is locked. Just dial 999 or 112 and press the green send button.

In a medical emergency you should ask for an ambulance. You will be put through to the emergency operations centre. Here are some tips below:

Before You Dial

Before dialling, here are some very important points:

• Try to Stay Calm!
  • Staying calm may avoid delays in the ambulance getting to its destination.
  • It is very common for delays to happen due to someone not being able to give an address (due to panicking too much).
• Know Your Location
  • If you are at your home address this is not a problem but in many cases you many be in an unfamiliar location, perhaps driving on the motorway or on a country lane.
  • Even when travelling to work everyday on the same roads, if you were to suddenly need to dial emergency services - would you know the location? name of the road?? Remember which junction you just passed when aiding an ambulance to find you?
  • Be aware of your surroundings - it could save a life!

Dialing

When dialling, here are some very important points:

• To call for an ambulance, dial 999 or 112
  • An operator will ask which service you require - police, fire or ambulance. Ask for an ambulance.
  • You will be put through to the ambulance service. Please be patient! They may be experiencing a large volume of calls. Your call will be answered as quickly as possible.
• When through to the ambulance service - information you must give:
  • Location - You will first be asked where you would like the ambulance to go to. Please give as accurate details as possible such as: the number of the building and name of the street; the nearest road junction or land mark; the post code or postal district.
  • Condition of Patient(s) - You will then be asked details of the incident which should be as brief but clear as possible. Depending on the incident, this may include:
    • How many people need help?
    • What is their age/sex?
    • Are they unconscious?
    • Are they breathing?
    • Do they have chest pains?
    • Are they bleeding?
    • Any relevant medical history eg diabetes, epilepsy.
• Think before you hang up!
  • Do not hang up the phone (possibly due to panic) before the ambulance service has all the details they need, most importantly - location and condition of patient(s).

What Happens After

As soon as the patient information is given, the following steps occur:

• An ambulance is dispatched and will aim to get to you as quickly as possible
  • Whilst waiting, if you can - make it as easy as possible for the ambulance to find you, for example - leave an outside light on, get an extra person to stand outside ready to flag down the approaching ambulance.
• Community Responders are also dispatched if they are identified as the nearest available resource
  • Responders are dispatched to the majority of calls the ambulance service receives but are not sent to incidents which could put them in danger such as road traffic incidents.
  • They operate in a small area so can be at a patients side within 5 minutes, providing both care and re-assurance before the ambulance arrives.
  • An early response by a Community Responder can have a significant benefit, such as for a patient who has had a heart attack, respiratory difficulties or is unconscious.
  • Do not contact Community Responders in an emergency - always dial 999 or 112!
  • Remember you can ALWAYS dial 999 or 112 from mobile telephone - even if it is locked.