Sunday 17 February 2013

ICE ICE Baby

"14 year old female, unconscious"

Getting sent to an unconscious 14 year old in a park on a Saturday night means drunk! OK, I'm sure there will be an anonymous commenter who will list all the other possible causes of unconsciousness in a teenager and tell be it is negligent to suggest it's alcohol but let's face it. She's drunk. If I'm wrong, I'll eat my hat! 

We found the entrance to the park, chucked ALL the bags on the trolley bed to cover ALL possibilities and headed off into the darkness. We followed the noise and illumination of cigarettes to a group of 6 drunk teenagers. Lying on the floor, covered in vomit was our patient. Not only was she drunk, she was freezing cold. We briefly assessed her, got her on the bed and off into the warm. None of the friends were willing to come with her and none of them knew her parents phone number. That puts us in an awkward position of transporting a minor, to a hospital which is possibly further away from her home and unable to let her parents know she was safe.

Her blood pressure was extremely low so we raised her legs and gave her some fluids. We only had her first name and she was well and truly out of it. If I was her, I'd be on the hunt for some new friends when I came round! Useless! We opened her vomit covered bag and got out her mobile phone to hunt for 'Mum' or 'Dad' in the phone book. If we were really lucky we'd find an ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact. For those not aware, ICE contacts was something that started in 2005 and the idea is that everyone has a contact in their phone book called ICE so that in the case of an emergency an ambulance crew, police or hospital staff can contact your next of kin. A very easy, simple solution, especially as everyone has mobile phones these days! There is however, a problem! Screen Lock! 

Most people have their phone locked. Despite the issue being brought to the attention of phone companies no solution has yet been found and therefor we were left in a situation like tonight. An unconscious teenager, no idea where she is from, no way of contacting her parents and no access to her phone! Luckily, she was drunk and it was more than likely that within the hour she would be awake enough to talk to hospital staff. Suppose though, she had been hit by a car and was fighting for her life. How would her parents find out? 

We got her to hospital and left her in the safety of the staff. All we had for them was that she was possibly 14 and her first name. 1am is no time for a girl of that age to be out, let alone drinking. I wonder where her parents thought she was!

This job did make me think about the ICE system and how widely used it is. I have an ICE contact on my phone but I also have my phone locked, so it's useless! Only once have I ever been able to contact a relative via an ICE contact so does the campaign need some new attention?!

Do you have an ICE contact in your phone?

Do you have a phone lock on?

Perhaps now, you'll ensure your children have them on theirs or at least have the ICE contact on their screen saver. Let me know! I'd be interested to hear if the novelty has warn off or if it never got going.

50 comments:

  1. OH and I both have Ice contacts but we both have screen locks too...I took mine off a while back but his is still on. Will have to tell him!

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  2. I have I've and all my kids (now grown up) do but never gave the screen lick a second thought doh! Will be making sure we add some detail to the screen saver! Why can't they link it into the emergency dial option you get on an iPhone?

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  3. You know what! I NEVER thought of the screen lock either!!!

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    1. See, the difference between you and me Kel is that clearly i'm saying what you're not thinking ;-)

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  4. I have ICE contact on my mobile and have for years. I also have it as text input on my lock screen and have made my family do the same.

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  5. Got ICE but also a screen lock! Doh!

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  6. Never heard of ICE on a phone but has made me ponder the screen lock issue too!

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  7. Had ICE for ages but need a screen lock, surely it can't be beyond the whit of phone companies to make ICE contacts unlockable, something like ICE999 could unlock them surely

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  8. No ICE contact in phonebook...because of the screen lock. Do have a card in my purse though :)

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    1. Being the technophobe I am...I'm not sure I have a screensaver, but will definitely look into how to do one!

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  9. I have a card in my purse, OH has one in his wallet, we both have an ICE contact and no screen locks lol

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  10. I have ICE in my phone and it has a phone lock. However at the bottom you can still select emergency dial or emergency contacts. All my info will pop up if it is needed!

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    1. Ooh what phone do you have?!

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    2. Droid RAZR but I'm pretty sure my last few droids have had that option

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    3. My Android Samsung Galaxy S3 has the same - I can click on Emergency Call, click on the icon with peoples heads, and it lists all the contacts I've listed as ICE. It's not the most obvious (I found it by accident) but it's nice that some companies do use it!

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  11. I have to have my screen locked as my 5 year old girl has a fantastic way of getting on my phone and spending money I don't even have! It's crazy but true. Think I will put something in my purse with contact details on it just in case.

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  12. What Fiona said! My ICE contacts are still available regardless of the screenlock!

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    1. What phone do you have?! Clearly one manufacturer has listened!

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    2. The Samsung Galaxy S3 has this feature :)

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  13. Wow drinking at 14 I didn't drink until I was 18 and was in by 11pm everynight until i finished college I'm 24 now sounds like Ive not missed much but I've led a sheltered life :-/ I don't ICE or my parents under mum and dad in my phone maybe I should change that :-/

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    1. Im guilty of starting young lol but never needed an ambulance!

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  14. I must say as a family we have a dyno name label thingy which I made ICE with mobile numbers on & stuck it each of our phones on the back.. :-)

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  15. Hey chick,
    I have the S3 Mini that has the option for ICE numbers and important info to pop up when locked too. Handy feature :)

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  16. My phone is screen locked. But not with a number or code.. You just slide the padlock in direction of arrows. Presumably this is ok?

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  17. No screen lock on mine (as I keep it in my bra)& 2 ICE contacts, have had them since I first heard of it years ago, brilliant idea & the whole family has them too

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    1. If you were unconscious though I probably wouldnt think to go hunting around in your bra lol!

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  18. I have an iphone, and definitely keep it locked (my friends and coworkers have been known to send embarrassing messages from my phone if they can get ahold of it!) There is an option for emergency call without unlocking it, but I'm pretty sure it only works to call 911, doesn't give any information of of my emergency contacts. Good idea on the screen saver

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    1. I have also been a victim of the Frape! Mine is now on a screen saver using the free app Ride ID :-)

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  19. The ICE123 iPhone app by acedotx allows you to save your ICE contacts as your locked screen for this exact purpose. It is an excellent app I would highly recommend.

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  20. my Android lets me set wallpapers on the lock screen, so have put my ice contact as an image using inkscape on the PC. now my ice appears as soon as you switch it on, behind the lock pattern.

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  21. My Samsung note 2 also has the ice contacts under the emergency call bit when the screen is locked. Never knew till someone said above! It's good to know.

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  22. I've never heard of ICE sorry & I have password lock on my phone - there are apps for iPhone (I've looked into although wear medic alert) where screen saver of phone can be ICE. Maybe similar need for other phones if doesn't already exist but to make it popular is another thing.

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  23. I have an emergency contact but not listed as ice mine is 1 emergency and 2 emergency that way they are the first numbers on my phone list. My phone isn't locked.

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  24. I'm a bit late as usual, but I was really pleased I saw this post. I've put ICE contacts in both mine and my husband's phones, but on several occasions wondered if it was silly. Besides the very first news stories that advertised the idea in 2005, I've never heard it mentioned again. I was starting to suspect it was just a passing fad and that emergency crews wouldn't be looking for ICE contacts any more.

    Thanks for letting us know they are still useful! (P.S. I don't have a screen lock on my phone)

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  25. Yep, there are a few apps for Android phones that add a button to your lockscreen labelled ICE. I use one as I have a complex medical history and it's easier to just point and have them read!

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  26. I have it as aICE so it's the first contact when you open my phone book,
    i also have a card in my purse with a USB key (although i'm pretty convinced its useless as half the time i can't find the damn card.)
    My dad also has a phob (Utag) he wears round his neck. This came in really handy when he was involved in a hit and run a few years back (he survived thankfully to the paramedics.)

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  27. I just recently found your blog. I enjoy your stories and humor. So a trick to ICE and locked phones is to put a banner on your front screen with the ICE contact. Either a picture that is saved with the contact or phones can allow you to put sayings on the front screen.

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