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Listen very carefully I shall say this only once
I've had this rant a couple of times now - I may as well have it where you can flame me to your heart's content.
On Sunday evening I arrived home to the following email on a semi public mailing list:
This is important!
Please read!
Following the disaster in London . . .
East Anglian Ambulance Service have launched a national "In case of Emergency (
ICE ) " campaign with the support of Falklands war hero Simon Weston.
The idea is that you store the word " I C E " in your mobile phone address book,
and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In
Case of Emergency".
In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to
quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's so
simple that everyone can do it. Please do.
Please will you also email this to everybody in your address book, it won't take
too many 'forwards' before everybody will know about this. It really could save
your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest.
For more than one contact name ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc.
My reply to the list was as follows:
The idea is that you store the word " I C E " in your mobile phone address
book, >and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be
contacted "In >Case of Emergency".
Umm, this would mean that anyone who stole your phone (if you don't lock
your phone/keypad with a PIN) would know that the person listed as ICE is
someone important to you. I don't think that's advisable.
> In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able
to quickly >find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them.
It's so simple that >everyone can do it. Please do.
'Next of kin' and 'person you want contacted' aren't necessarily the same.
If you use a PIN to lock your phone no one will be able to access the ICE
number *anyway*. If the mobile/landline networks are as congested as they
were on Thursday then access to someone's ICE person isn't going to help.
Calling people has to wait till the telecommunications network isn't quite
so busy.
If you're that concerned about someone being able to work out who to contact
for you in an emergency put their details on a piece of paper in your
purse - use one of Girlguiding UK's emergency details cards if you like.
Alternatively, if you have health problems you'd want a doctor to know about
eg. you're on steriods/have asthma etc. get a Medicalert pendant.
> Please will you also email this to everybody in your address book, it
won't take >too many 'forwards' before everybody will know about this. It
really could save >your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest.
No. There's never a reason to forward any email to 'everyone in your address
book' and if you're going to do it anyway *please* learn how to blind carbon
copy your emails. Something like this will never save someone's life. If
you've medical conditions the doctors treating you need to know about
immediately then get a Medicalert pendant.
And to expand on my rant - http://www.eastanglianambulance.com/content/news/newsdetail.asp?newsID=646104183 where the idea seems to originate is dated April 2005. Therefore, it was not issued as a response to last Thursday's happenings.
I object to the assertion that it can save lives or that it can put loved ones minds at rest. I object to the fact that this must have been written by someone who wasn't in London on 7th and who has no fucking clue of what was going on - the telephone network was congested, ICE contacts wouldn't have helped get information to relatives any faster because no one could get any calls through. I object to the fact that otherwise clueful people are passing this round seemingly without thought as to its merits. And I object to it being presented as a panacea - even if you don't lock your phone/keypad and are prepared to run the risk of your relatives/friends getting crank calls by being listed as your ICE contact, your phone may not be charged, your phone may have been submerged in water or you may not have your phone on you. To be honest, I object in principle to someone starting a chain email in response to the attacks - ffs, people are dead, the self assured, 'everything will be alright' tone grates.
If you're after sensible advice on emergency preparedness I suggest http://www.redcross.org.uk/uploads/documents/PREPARINGspFORspANspEMERGENCY(1).doc or http://www.ukresilience.info/home.htm or http://www.pfe.gov.uk/
On Sunday evening I arrived home to the following email on a semi public mailing list:
This is important!
Please read!
Following the disaster in London . . .
East Anglian Ambulance Service have launched a national "In case of Emergency (
ICE ) " campaign with the support of Falklands war hero Simon Weston.
The idea is that you store the word " I C E " in your mobile phone address book,
and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In
Case of Emergency".
In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to
quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's so
simple that everyone can do it. Please do.
Please will you also email this to everybody in your address book, it won't take
too many 'forwards' before everybody will know about this. It really could save
your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest.
For more than one contact name ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc.
My reply to the list was as follows:
The idea is that you store the word " I C E " in your mobile phone address
book, >and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be
contacted "In >Case of Emergency".
Umm, this would mean that anyone who stole your phone (if you don't lock
your phone/keypad with a PIN) would know that the person listed as ICE is
someone important to you. I don't think that's advisable.
> In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able
to quickly >find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them.
It's so simple that >everyone can do it. Please do.
'Next of kin' and 'person you want contacted' aren't necessarily the same.
If you use a PIN to lock your phone no one will be able to access the ICE
number *anyway*. If the mobile/landline networks are as congested as they
were on Thursday then access to someone's ICE person isn't going to help.
Calling people has to wait till the telecommunications network isn't quite
so busy.
If you're that concerned about someone being able to work out who to contact
for you in an emergency put their details on a piece of paper in your
purse - use one of Girlguiding UK's emergency details cards if you like.
Alternatively, if you have health problems you'd want a doctor to know about
eg. you're on steriods/have asthma etc. get a Medicalert pendant.
> Please will you also email this to everybody in your address book, it
won't take >too many 'forwards' before everybody will know about this. It
really could save >your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest.
No. There's never a reason to forward any email to 'everyone in your address
book' and if you're going to do it anyway *please* learn how to blind carbon
copy your emails. Something like this will never save someone's life. If
you've medical conditions the doctors treating you need to know about
immediately then get a Medicalert pendant.
And to expand on my rant - http://www.eastanglianambulance.com/content/news/newsdetail.asp?newsID=646104183 where the idea seems to originate is dated April 2005. Therefore, it was not issued as a response to last Thursday's happenings.
I object to the assertion that it can save lives or that it can put loved ones minds at rest. I object to the fact that this must have been written by someone who wasn't in London on 7th and who has no fucking clue of what was going on - the telephone network was congested, ICE contacts wouldn't have helped get information to relatives any faster because no one could get any calls through. I object to the fact that otherwise clueful people are passing this round seemingly without thought as to its merits. And I object to it being presented as a panacea - even if you don't lock your phone/keypad and are prepared to run the risk of your relatives/friends getting crank calls by being listed as your ICE contact, your phone may not be charged, your phone may have been submerged in water or you may not have your phone on you. To be honest, I object in principle to someone starting a chain email in response to the attacks - ffs, people are dead, the self assured, 'everything will be alright' tone grates.
If you're after sensible advice on emergency preparedness I suggest http://www.redcross.org.uk/uploads/documents/PREPARINGspFORspANspEMERGENCY(1).doc or http://www.ukresilience.info/home.htm or http://www.pfe.gov.uk/