In Case of Emergency (ICE)
Research carried out by Vodafone
showed that more than 75% of people carry no details of who they
would like to be contacted following a serious accident or
illness.
The East Anglian Ambulance NHS
Trust developed ICE (In Case of Emergency). The scheme
encourages people to store the details of the person they would
like contacted in an emergency in their mobile phone’s phonebook
using the word ICE in front of the person’s name. This makes it
much easier for the emergency services to identify quickly who they
should be calling.
Several numbers can be stored, using ICE1,
ICE2, ICE3 etc. The person whose number is being used should have
agreed to be the ICE contact and should have a list of further
people to contact such as a place of work. In addition, they should
know about any medical conditions that could affect the emergency
treatment including allergies or medication.
People under 18 should have an ICE contact who
is a parent, guardian, or immediate member of family authorised to
make decisions on their behalf. Friends and other relatives cannot
make decisions on behalf of a person admitted to hospital.