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Paul Makepeace > Inchoate > 2005 > 06 > Ice In Case Of Emergency news - contact - search |
A neat idea to help paramedics find next of kin: put a suitable contact in your phone's address book with the "ICE" prefix. Original idea by a Cambridgeshire para, supported by Vodafone and probably others to follow, here. More detail here.
Pass it on!
Pity the paramedic that has to deal with a PDA phone - vastly more complex, and in my case being a Microsoft Outlook-esque product shows "Last name, First name": my first attempt had the ICE displayed at the end of the name! To be readily visible on a Pocket PC phone select the name as:
First Name: Eira Makepeace
Middle: (mother)
Last name: ICE
I'd rather just use www.lastwishes.org.uk, it's a free website to store all kinds of stuff, mobile 'phone numbers, WAB addressbooks and the main function is to give CONFIDENTIAL contact in the case of death
Posted by: MIke at July 11, 2005 21:55Mike - the point of ICE is that paramedics can find someone to contact RIGHT THEN rather than go to a website which might not be convenient.
Posted by: Paul Makepeace at July 11, 2005 22:05This is an excellent idea and I am doing all I can to pass the word around.
However, Can I be sure that all the paramedics in the country know about this scheme?
Regards
Tony Manders
ICE is great idea. but in my phone it only allows me to put ICE + first name then no more space have done it anyway - also need a method for young children who don't carry phones.
Posted by: SUE at July 14, 2005 11:40Reply for Sue. I put in ICE 1 PARTNER and then the number so at least the paramedics will know what the relationship is. I also have ICE 2 Sister and I have,of course told my partner and sister! What about identity braclets for the children? Keep safe.
Posted by: Jan at July 14, 2005 13:20with regards to the website, i'm an A&E nurse and i've never heard of lastwishes.org.uk
John
Being an EMT/Firefighter from the states, I feel this idea is awesome. It would simplify our loves alot. Of course you have to beable to locate the phone, find the entry, have signal. There are alot of variables and what ifs you could apply to it. Overall I feel if done right with public service announcements and wireless companies getting on the bandwagon it could be well implemented. Possibly saving a life or 2. It needs to be made public and each agency that supports it needs to mandate the checking of cell phones for ICE. If local initiative was taken then yes ICE could become and internation standard in just a couple of years.
Posted by: Duane at July 25, 2005 14:16I'm not entirely convinced that emergency responsers want this added responsibility. I'm not saying that they don't want to do their job; I'm saying that there are higher priorities to patient care than trying to find info in a phone. There are SO many shortfalls to this system to sell me on it, yet. (Not that I can't change my mind later).
I've written about this in my blog: http://blog.richpalmer.com/
Posted by: Rich at August 2, 2005 12:25Rich - every person in the medical profession I've spoken to including a couple of friends who work in ambulances are excited about this idea. (Having been in hospital for four weeks and been in and out since, that's quite a few people at this point ;-).
I take your point that it's probably tricky to do at the scene, and more of a hospital-time process. Still, at the end of the day, if it's there it'll probably save time.
The US is catching up with Europe and Japan still in terms of cell phone tech and adoption - over here most of us have familiarity with a variety of phones, and most are basically quite similar. The churn rate of phone usage is higher. That might be a factor in the tech issues you've noticed.
Any new idea is subject to some early teething problems. I wouldn't write it off yet...
A FREE universally recognizable graphic and card design that can be printed by ANYONE has been developed earlier in 2005 by 2 safety professionals and former paramedic/police located in New York State, USA. You can print the design into stickers that can be affixed to your cell phone or locations where medical information is located. No phone? Fill out a card and carry with you however you choose. Oddly enough, after this FREE ICE KIT was designed and put on the net, some persons have decided to exploit this idea for PROFIT despite the idea being in the public domain. Need the FREE design...it is free and already in use by some DHS entities.
Posted by: Mark at March 19, 2006 19:52The right thing to do is to go to www.icecontact.com and buy a subscription. They will store up to 4 next of kin contacts plus medical information. In case of emergency a number will be called, the caller will be identified, they will be given the medical information and the company will then contact the 4 next of kin people. On average it takes 5 hours and 51 munites to find next of kin. with the ICE card it takes 13 minutes. Certainly worth buying.
Posted by: Jorgen at June 22, 2006 13:42You can access and select a variety of free DIY web based (Free CD Kits for Community Based Organizations) ICE Tools and preparedness information that can enhance your chances of survival in the event of an emergency. You can also send a SASE and get FREE Stickers.....Since 2005.
Visit www.ice4safety.com