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ICE, ICE, Baby
Aug. 29th, 2005 03:19 pmI don't usually do the viral email thingies. You know, the kind that scream for everyone's attention, and say you should forward it along.
So, rather than do that, I'm going to talk about the topic, without doing a copy.
*^*^*^*
Here's the scenario:
Imagine you're in an accident. You're knocked out. A paramedic, or an EMT, arrives at the scene, and wants to contact your spouse or other loved one, to either get consent for a procedure, or to learn what allergies you might have, or just to let them know what's happened.
So they pick up your cell phone...
...and find a directory with 80-mumble undifferentiated names.
Which one would they call? How would they know how to prioritize the hunt? Time's a wastin'... and the poor person has to figure out somehow who your emergency contact should be.
*^*^*^*
This isn't an abstract situation. It happens many times.
In response to it, Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust in the UK, came up with an idea:
Have people enter an entry into their cell phones labelled, "ICE" -- an acronym for, "In Case of Emergency."
In other words, if I have an entry that says, "ICE - Ulrika (cell)" that gives the poor paramedic something to start with. And, if enough people do it, if it becomes a de facto standard, it can just become part of the checklist in a life-threatening situation. If I'm lucky enough to have more than one person to contact (if, say, the first number doesn't get an answer, and I want to give an alternate), I can just put in entries "ICE1," "ICE2," "ICE3," etc., in order of priority.
Here's what Mr. Brotchie says, on that page:
"Bob, 41, who has been a paramedic for 13 years, said: “I was reflecting on some of the calls I’ve attended at the roadside where I had to look through the mobile phone contacts struggling for information on a shocked or injured person.
"It’s difficult to know who to call. Someone might have “mum” in their phone book but that doesn’t mean they’d want them contacted in an emergency.
"Almost everyone carries a mobile phone now, and with ICE we’d know immediately who to contact and what number to ring. The person may even know of their medical history.”
I haven't noticed any of my UK readers comment about this (and it may well have slipped by me), but after the London bombings of 7/7, it seems the idea got enough traction for the BBC to write an article on it.
I can only approve, do it myself, and suggest you do the same. Like the cliche goes, the life you save may be your own.
So, rather than do that, I'm going to talk about the topic, without doing a copy.
*^*^*^*
Here's the scenario:
Imagine you're in an accident. You're knocked out. A paramedic, or an EMT, arrives at the scene, and wants to contact your spouse or other loved one, to either get consent for a procedure, or to learn what allergies you might have, or just to let them know what's happened.
So they pick up your cell phone...
...and find a directory with 80-mumble undifferentiated names.
Which one would they call? How would they know how to prioritize the hunt? Time's a wastin'... and the poor person has to figure out somehow who your emergency contact should be.
*^*^*^*
This isn't an abstract situation. It happens many times.
In response to it, Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust in the UK, came up with an idea:
Have people enter an entry into their cell phones labelled, "ICE" -- an acronym for, "In Case of Emergency."
In other words, if I have an entry that says, "ICE - Ulrika (cell)" that gives the poor paramedic something to start with. And, if enough people do it, if it becomes a de facto standard, it can just become part of the checklist in a life-threatening situation. If I'm lucky enough to have more than one person to contact (if, say, the first number doesn't get an answer, and I want to give an alternate), I can just put in entries "ICE1," "ICE2," "ICE3," etc., in order of priority.
Here's what Mr. Brotchie says, on that page:
"Bob, 41, who has been a paramedic for 13 years, said: “I was reflecting on some of the calls I’ve attended at the roadside where I had to look through the mobile phone contacts struggling for information on a shocked or injured person.
"It’s difficult to know who to call. Someone might have “mum” in their phone book but that doesn’t mean they’d want them contacted in an emergency.
"Almost everyone carries a mobile phone now, and with ICE we’d know immediately who to contact and what number to ring. The person may even know of their medical history.”
I haven't noticed any of my UK readers comment about this (and it may well have slipped by me), but after the London bombings of 7/7, it seems the idea got enough traction for the BBC to write an article on it.
I can only approve, do it myself, and suggest you do the same. Like the cliche goes, the life you save may be your own.
