UAE | General
ICE could save your life
It is always better to be safe than sorry - and one of the ways to be safe is to store the word ICE before the name of the person you think will know almost everything about you to help paramedics or police in case of an emergency.
- By Alia Al Theeb, Deputy UAE Editor
- Published: 23:10 July 19, 2009
- Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
- Dubai Ambulance personnel administer first aid to a hit and run victim on Abu Bakr Al Siddique Road.
Dubai: It is always better to be safe than sorry - and one of the ways to be safe is to store the word ICE before the name of the person you think will know almost everything about you to help paramedics or police in case of an emergency.
ICE, which stands for In Case of Emergency, is a simple and easy way which the Kindness Movement is promoting in the UAE.
It has been useful in helping police and paramedics identify a person or get more information about a person in emergency cases and when the person is unable to provide the information themself
The Kindness Movement aims to spread the culture of kindness. The movement also promotes consumer protection by carrying out awareness campaigns and promoting Dubai as a city of accessibility for people with special needs.
Nawar Al Dass, Chief Executive of the Kindness Movement, told Gulf News the project of promoting ICE is an urgent one.
Al Dass said this is not only about accidents, some people have allergies and can get into an emergency situation where they might not be in a state to tell the paramedic or the doctors about their medical history or other information.
"Therefore, it is always best to have ICE stored before the name of a person who would know the medical history of the patient, the medications he is on, other medical conditions he might be suffering from and other essential information," he said.
Al Dass said that to activate this project, the movement has contacted the authorities concerned.
"We have communicated with Dubai Centre for Ambulance Services, Dubai Police and Dubai Civil Defence, who showed great interest and willingness to encourage the project. We have also got requests from other police across the UAE regarding this project," he said.
Al Dass said choosing a person to be an ICE contact is very critical.
"That particular person needs to know the medical history of the patient, know if the patient is on any type of medication, if the patient has any kinds of allergies or disorders. The person should speak more than one language such as Arabic or English for instance and most importantly be able to act right in the emergency situation and do not panic," he said.
The movement has distributed leaflets on information about ICE at malls, cinemas and other places and will soon have more detailed leaflets on choosing the ICE contacts and storing the contacts on the SIM card - not the mobile phone in case the phone is broken.
Campaign: Spread the word
The ICE campaign was launched in May, 2005 and is the brainchild of British paramedic Bob Brotchi. He said the idea came to him "just from reflecting on difficulties I've had in obtaining information about patients. The vast majority of people don't carry emergency contact details or next-of-kin details, but the vast majority of people carry cell phones. Most [paramedics] spend time looking for a cell phone, not knowing who to call. It occurred to me there might be a uniform way of doing this."
How the public can help?
- The public can adopt the concept and spread it through word of mouth.
- Volunteer for the project and distribute leaflets.
- Forward an e-mail on ICE to other groups and suggest other ways to support on the website www.myice.org
Source: CBS News
Do you have an emergency contact on your phone? Has it ever helped you in a difficult situation? Share your personal experiences with us.
Your comments
Many thanks everyone for your kind words, encouragement and suggestions.
We have plans to implement most of the suggestions you listed down in your email, but we are just taking each step at a time. After introducing ICE to the relevant authorities around the country, now the main thing is to educate the public on ICE as a concept, and afterwards we will develop methods of applying ICE.
As you are probably aware, we are a non for profit organisation with limited human, logistic and financial resources so running such a project is very challenging but with committed and kind people like you our job seems to be easier and a lot more rewarding..:)
Many thanks for your support again
Best
Nawar F. Al Daas
Nawar F. Al Daas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 14:32
Telecom carriers can play a major role here with introducing an SMS service for loading this kind of Data and storing the ICE on their network which can be obtainable by the authorities in case of any emergency, surely a great idea and people from allwalks of life should join this initiative .
Ali
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 14:05
Yes, i am using ICE since 2 years back an advice from my concern friend and i have tagged 4 names.
Mary Ann
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 13:20
While this is indeed a very good suggestion, crooks unfortunately have misused even this. I have read about instances where thieves have called ICE numbers on stolen mobiles to get details such as ATM passwords, Ebanking PIN etc.
Public should also be cautioned not to give such information over phone or SMS and use the ICE facility only for the purpose intended.
Deepak
Manama,Bahrain
Posted: July 20, 2009, 12:25
A mandatory ICE setting on a sim card is a pragmatic suggestion indeed. Could the Kindness Movement take a step further? Can they conduct awareness workshops through educational institutions, foreign missions and in social settings like clubs? May I recommend to Nawar Al Dass to make their presnce felt at DSS venues? The Kindness Movement could solicit the services of the RTA and committed and compassionate service providers like School Transport System?
Neville De Noronha
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 11:26
I think the initiative should start with mentioning the very basic information such as "blood type" which is very Important in emergency cases, on both the labor card and driving license.
Ahmad
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 11:10
this ICE program is very supported to patience who was affected by sugar, Blood press,and major illness.this programs can be implemented through HR of big companies.thanking you.
Syed Abu Thaheer
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 10:59
ICE is a great thing. Its just a one time exercise. I use it and its really helpful!!
Ali Zaheer
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 10:31
Wonderful Idea. It could really save lives or at least it will put the mind of our families in rest as it will enable the concerned persons of paramedics or/and police to contact directly and easily with our ICE contacts.
Safi Al Deen
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 10:09
Many thanks to Gulf News for the support given to ICE and to The Kindness Movement.
We would like to let the readers know that the correct website is www.myice.org
Be safe! Regards from The Kindness Movement of the UAE
A Reader
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 09:49
its a great idea! I haven't thought of that, but it would greatly make a difference. well-written report
Muna
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 09:29
I totally agree with this idea and have a ICE number on my cell phone for the past 1 year. There hasn?t been a circumstance where it was put to test. But I would like to highlight one fact that people (including me) have a tendency of not picking up the phone when it come from a number they are not familiar with. This attitude can save a life or vice versa.
Prashant
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 09:21
It is a very good move to have ICE in front of the particular personnel. What I feel is not to have only just ICE contact on the sim card but to put this information through the service provider to authorise to have on the Phone's screen automatically so that no one to spend time to search in an emergency but to call immediately on ICE contact.
Yousuf
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 09:18
I've never come across an emergency situation, but the moment I read this I?ve added ICE against my hubby's number and asked him to do the same. This is indeed a good move.
Tina Vibin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 08:44
this message on internet years back. I have saved the numbers ever since then. its a good move to put it in the media so the reads are aware of the necessity
Ashraf
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 08:30
I think the service providers should work something out on this. Example: When you buy any number...it should come with emergency number contact on SIM which cannot be deleted. All emergency numbers for police, ambulance, fire and 181. ICE should come as mandatory setting which will ensure all have to feed in 3 ICE contacts without which the number will not get activated. This can also be done at time of buy to give customer service representative 3 ICE contacts to feed and activate the SIM and these emergency number cannot be deleted! Hope this advice was of some help!
Neelam Serai
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 08:29
Yes, I do have a ICE Ref in my mobile , I also carry a additional note in my wallet with detail of ICE number and other family members. It is very important to have such details handy.
Anil Nair
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 08:19
I got a mail almost 2 years back mentioning about ICE, since then I had tagged two names to ICE.
Mohammad Shameel
Ras al khaimah,UAE
Posted: July 20, 2009, 01:04
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