I.C.E.

Apparently this is a standard procedure all paramedics follow at the scene of an accident when they come across your cell phone.
ICE - "In Case of Emergency"
We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.
If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call.
Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency?
Hence this "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign the concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly.
It is a method of contact during emergency situations.
As cell (mobile) phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case Of Emergency).
The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call.
He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose.
In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE."


This is an email I received. It sounded like a good idea and I thought 'I must do that later'. In my usual 'Hamlet' fashion I didn't get around to doing it despite thinking of it several times. Finally I thought not only will I do it but such a good idea is worth posting on the blog, just as a short note to help promote the campaign. But first I thought I had better get some facts...... even if the only reason was that I couldn't remember whether it was I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) or R.I.C.E. (Ring In Case of Emergency).

The idea was conceived by Bob Brotchie, a paramedic with the East Anglian Ambulance Service in England and gained support after the London bombings in July 2005.

So is I.C.E. a good idea? In September 2005 the Victorian Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Tim Holding threw his support behind the campaign and congratulated the people who were running the campaign in the U.K. Some reports claim Telstra have also supported the idea and have even sent out over 7 million text messages urging people to include I.C.E. into their phones. Other internet articles claimed that most Australian emergency organizations had thrown their support behind the idea.

Many emails people received about I.C.E. claimed to have come from the New South Wales Ambulance Service. However the Ambulance Service issued their own media release in January 2008 saying they had "not launched any campaign supporting ICE (In Case of Emergency)", but they went on to say that they supported any idea which helped in contacting families in the case of an emergency and that I.C.E. had merit as one of these methods.

Some concerns have been raised about the idea. For instance many phones may be locked and require a password to access the number; of course if the I.C.E. number is accessible without a password this may compromise confidentiality. It may be unnecessarily distressing where a person in an accident has borrowed another person's phone and the wrong family are called.

There was also an email circulating warning that the I.C.E. campaign was a scam and that once entered into PAYG phones it allowed unused credit to be stolen. Like the email which claimed that I.C.E. was an initiative promoted by the NSW Ambulance Service this email was also false.

I wondered how widespread the idea was. I visited the local ambulance, police and emergency ward at the hospital to see if many people were using it. At the Ambulance station one officer had never heard of it; one had vaguely heard of it and kindly looked it up on the computer; and another had heard about it but knew that the NSW Ambulance service had issued a media release saying it was not their campaign. A good discussion ensued. While the officers agreed the idea had some merit they also pointed out that the idea had problems: phones got mixed up in an accident, people usually had wallets or handbags with i.d., and ambulance officers would be concerned with treatment and getting people to hospital not phoning next-of-kin. All fair responses.

Next I tried the police. The officers I had spoken to had not heard of it. They also thought the idea could have merit but thought there may be confusion over I.C.E. or R.I.C.E. or N.O.K. (Next of Kin). They also pointed to other forms of identifying a person and referred to their extensive files and knowledge of local people.

So on to the hospital. Reception staff hadn't heard of it but in the Emergency Ward the sister knew all about it, but pointed out that they had never had to use it. She asked other staff in the ward and about half of them knew of it.

So to tell the truth I still haven't entered I.C.E. into my phone..... probably 'cause I need a 12 year old kid to do it for me. Do I think it is a good idea? Well it would seem that paramedics and ambulance staff would not be the ones to use it, its not really their job; but once at the hospital it is possible that it could be useful. The scheme doesn't seem widespread so there is always the possibility nobody would use it even if you have it listed. Given these minor drawbacks it still can't hurt to have it in the phone anyway ..... except maybe if you are unconscious at at accident and the first person to the accident, which inevitably is the tow truck driver, uses your phone to ring your next-of-kin to get the contract to tow your car away!

More important to paramedics is any medical information about you. Maybe there could be a function in the phone which has your photo (so they get the right person), your blood group, any allergies, any medications, and any medical conditions. All this, including who to ring in an emergency, could be there at the touch of a button. Instead of I.C.E. we could have M.I.N.E. (Medical Information and Notification in Emergency).