# Which do you use



## cabby (May 14, 2005)

A friend was taken ill a couple of weeks back, fortunately his daughter was visiting and thought it best to phone for assistance, being a younger person she is used to the 111 service, which it turns out was effective.
However I would have called 999 and asked for an ambulance.Thinking that this was a better and quicker service. As I am told that the other number is vetted to see if it needs an ambulance.
I do believe that we have this service personal on here as members, so would appreciate guidance.

cabby

Have also heard that someone was asked to pay £80 for the ambulance call out, but I cannot believe this.


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## talogon (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi cabby I used 999 recently when an elderly neighbour had a fall, it would not have entered my head to ring 111. So feedback on this would be good.
Brian


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

After being taken ill a few months back at 2am one Sunday morning the wife phoned Shropdoc, which is our out of hrs medical assistance, was told to take me to A&E, she told them it was impossible to lift me off the floor, was then told an ambulance was on the way, hey presto 10 mins later they arrived.:smile2:


SO for us, it's Shropdoc 


tony


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

999 AND 111 go to the nearest BT/mobile exchange, and get the highest priority, if there is no capacity to answer it then the call is automatically diverted to the next nearest exchange after about 10 seconds I believe, and so on.

At this point you are asked "Which service do you require" you are then connected, by BT/mobile, to WHICHEVER service you have asked for, no questions asked (other than the number you are calling from) you are ALWAYS put straight through. BT NEVER EVER EVER "vet" the calls, its not their job. 

Once connected to the emergency service of your choice THEN you will be asked various questions. If you ever need to call 999 STAY AS CALM AS YOU CAN, its very difficult getting useful information out of people if they are not calm. Easier said than done I know!! 

One of, if not THE, most vital bit of information is where EXACTLY you are, so if you can find that out before calling it will save time in the long run.

Andy


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Very true about the location, unfortunately phones do not have the location displayed in the centre of the dial pad anymore.>>

cabby


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I mentioned paying for an ambulance a few years ago in a recent thread Phil, it was a motorcycle accident but one was not needed, but it came and took me anyway so I got charged, this was back around 1980, I cannot confirm if this is still the case.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Found this

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...ent_data/file/288509/cru-bulletin-01-2014.pdf


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I never knew about 111. I thought it was 112 which is commonly used throughout Europe. Knowing exactly where you are, even with GPS is a good idea. I had to call the Police on a Stellplatz once in Germany and its all too easy when you pull up somewhere in the van not to really know exactly where you are. Sounds daft but its worth just making sure you both know your exact location.

As for Ambulance charges, from memory in the 80's it used to be £10.90 but I think it only applied to RTA's. I definitely had a couple to cough up for back then.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

barryd said:


> I never knew about 111. I thought it was 112 which is commonly used throughout Europe. Knowing exactly where you are, even with GPS is a good idea. I had to call the Police on a Stellplatz once in Germany and its all too easy when you pull up somewhere in the van not to really know exactly where you are. Sounds daft but its worth just making sure you both know your exact location.
> 
> As for Ambulance charges, from memory in the 80's it used to be £10.90 but I think it only applied to RTA's. I definitely had a couple to cough up for back then.


Barry

112 in Europe is the equivalent of 999 in UK. Both are routed exactly the same because a European visitor may not know of 999.

Geoff


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## Douzeper (Aug 19, 2007)

On a mobile I would use 112


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

Mrplodd said:


> 999 AND 111 go to the nearest BT/mobile exchange, and get the highest priority, if there is no capacity to answer it then the call is automatically diverted to the next nearest exchange after about 10 seconds I believe, and so on.
> 
> At this point you are asked "Which service do you require" you are then connected, by BT/mobile, to WHICHEVER service you have asked for, no questions asked (other than the number you are calling from) you are ALWAYS put straight through. BT NEVER EVER EVER "vet" the calls, its not their job.
> 
> ...


Andy,

Excellent advice for making an emergency call on 999, but just to clarify, 111 was set up to reduce the strain on 999 calls and isn't intended as an emergency number in life threatening situations. It is intended for the next lower tier of incidents and is vetted to direct the call or caller, to the most appropriate assistance.

In a full on emergency 999 every time.

Hopefully the attached link will work, an 8 page explanatory leaflet on the NHS website.

http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/aboutn.../documents/2012/nhs 111 easy read leaflet.pdf

Edit - Link only appears to be showing first page on my system.... Sorry.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Douzeper said:


> On a mobile I would use 112


Douzeper

That was a very informative and useful video clip and he presented it very well - really professional instructor.

Just as feedback, I tried to register here in Poland using the word 'register' and the message bounced back. I will try later using a Polish word.

This is just to advise others that maybe they should be sure to register in UK before travelling.

Have other Members successfully done it outside the UK? If so, how?

Feedback please.

Geoff


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Geoff, is that a local sim card you are using, as you are in the EU it should work.
After seeing the video have registered both phones.

cabby


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

cabby said:


> Geoff, is that a local sim card you are using, as you are in the EU it should work.
> After seeing the video have registered both phones.
> 
> cabby


Local Polish sim which works OK.

I think maybe it does not recognise the word 'Register'. I will get my translator to do Polish equivalent later - when she wakes up.:wink2:

Geoff


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Doh!!!

Of course 111 is NHS direct and is certainly NOT an emergency number that's 999 or 112

Bloody daft using 111 and 112, too much room for confusion !!!

Andy


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Funny that you should spot that, I have been thinking about this and trying to find out which they did call for clarification.
One should use 112 or 999 and NOT 111.


cabby


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

That might explain why I thought it was 112 then.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I just registered, and the YouTube info differs from the SMS message I received, it says "Send the 'YES' to 999 to complete you registration", which I ignored and simply replied to the message as the vid says to do and it worked, as it sent me another message, saying that I was registered.

Hope we & everyone else on here never need it.

But, why after turning his back to the wind, didn't he just put the phone to his other ear oil when his head might have been blocking the signal.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Because most folks only use the same ear when on the phone.Plus it is a more effective display for a video.

cabby


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

We have used, in this country, both the 999 and the 111 services. The 999 call was for a suspected heart attack and proved to be right. They were very quick and found us in a field, in the middle of Berkshire, where we were attending, in our motorhome, a Whippet Racing event. After assessment they transported Mr Patp to the cardiac specialist unit where, at the weekend, the top consultant was working and saved his life.


The 111 call came a week or so later when Mr Patp awoke to chest pain that differed from his heart attack symptoms. They took no chances and quickly transferred him to the 999 service who dispatched an ambulance, to our rural home, promptly again. This turned out to not be too serious (inflammation around the heart). I was bemused to asked, by the ambulance crew, if we had any paracetemol! They, apparently, are not allowed to carry any.


Another 999 call, from home, was needed, a little while later, when Mr Patp awoke to being very sweaty and with chest pain. This time a first responder arrived first and started the monitoring. The ambulance followed up and transported him off to hospital again where pneumonia was diagnosed.


The hapless Mr Patp recently took a tumble, head first, down our, very steep, stairs whilst looking for the bathroom in the middle of the night. As he had a nasty head wound and was showing signs of shock, I phoned 111 for advice and, after taking all the details, they dispatched an ambulance. This one took a little longer to arrive than the others but duly carted him off to A&E where they stitched him up!


So, our dealings with both services, has been very reassuring during stressful times.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Pat

That sounds to me as though you were correctly using the two services - in that you only called 999 when really justified and 111 when not sure it needed 999, but that they were able to assess the need for treating it as a possible emergency and despatch resources accordingly, so the fact that you did not call 999 directly still resulted in a good outcome.

Well done and thanks for reporting your experience of how the two services reacted.

I hope all is well with himself and that you do not need either service in the future.

Oh, and get one of those kiddie gates for the top of the stairs - just kidding:wink2::laugh:

Geoff


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

cabby said:


> Because most folks only use the same ear when on the phone.Plus it is a more effective display for a video.
> 
> cabby


I use both, may as well bugger up both sides > >


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

Dominant right hand, right foot


" , left ear, left eye.


tony


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

GEMMY said:


> Dominant right hand, right foot
> 
> " , left ear, left eye.
> 
> tony


I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous > >

I'm pretty well balance except my writing, left handed is a bit rubbish, only beaten by how crap my right hand is.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

You keep thinking that Kev.>> well it is nearly Christmas.:grin2::grin2:


cabby


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

cabby said:


> You keep thinking that Kev.>> well it is nearly Christmas.:grin2::grin2:
> 
> cabby


Your threads are getting very Cryptic lately Phil, you come off your meds again, your nurse will be giving you earache > >


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

nicholsong said:


> Pat
> 
> That sounds to me as though you were correctly using the two services - in that you only called 999 when really justified and 111 when not sure it needed 999, but that they were able to assess the need for treating it as a possible emergency and despatch resources accordingly, so the fact that you did not call 999 directly still resulted in a good outcome.
> 
> ...


The stairgate was considered as a serious option Geoff  Though he had nine stitches in his head wound, things could have been so much worse! What we are doing instead is leaving the light on at the bottom of the stairs so that it filters up to indicate where the stairs are.
I am racked with guilt because, though I heard a bit of a commotion, I thought that he had stubbed his toe, or had cramp, so left him to it! He eventually came and dragged me out of bed so that I could help him clear up all the blood and, of course, call on the medical services for advice.


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

Just remember 112. That'll get you to Emergency Services anywhere in Europe, including the UK (which is in Europe!)


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

I have since found out that they called 111,they have also had to call when her husband fell over again yesterday, when calling111 she was told to call 999.
Can one use 112 on a landline or just the mobile.

Sorry if I seem to be cryptic kev.it is that time of year.>>

cabby


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

999 AND 112 will get EXACTLY the same response whether dialled from a landline OR a mobile. 

They will get you to a dedicated emergency service operator at the exchange and THEY will then route your call to whichever service you ask them to.

Use either, the end result is identical

Andy


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