Accidents were the commonest type of incident (24%). The remainder comprised various medical conditions such as respiratory, cardiac, and obstetric problems. In 1.5% of calls there was no illness, injury, or assistance required and 5% were for "general assistance" and mostly concerned people aged > or = 65.
You should call 999 in a life-threatening emergency only. Life-threatening emergencies are different for adults and children.
1. Traumatic Injury – 21.4% – Sudden and severe injuries that develop as a result of acute force are classified as traumatic injuries.
When you dial 999, the first person you speak to is the Operator who will ask you which service you need. If you ask for an ambulance, you will be put through to your local ambulance service. An emergency call handler will then take the call and will ask you questions so that help can be arranged.
In the last year, BT handled about 33 million 999 calls but in 2000, that figure was 25 million calls. Ms Davies said police requests were down but ambulance calls significantly higher. And this summer, 999 call handlers answered on average more than 100,000 calls a day.
Some of the most ridiculous 999 calls made to the emergency services have been revealed. Among them was someone who had eaten a mouldy tomato and another who had got their plaster cast wet. One person with an earring lodged inside their ear asked for a lift' to hospital while another dialled 999 for a paper cut.
When the person clicks on the link they'll be asked to give access to their camera and microphone. Once accepted this activates a video call between the caller and the 999 operator while showing your location.
If you have dialled 999 by mistake or if a child has been playing with the phone and has dialled 999 by mistake please stay on the line and speak to the operator, you can then tell them it was a mistake.
Call 999 from a mobile
If you don't speak or answer questions, press 55 when prompted and your call will be transferred to the police. Pressing 55 only works on mobiles and doesn't allow the police to track your location. If you don't press 55 your call will be ended.
112: This operates exactly the same as 999 and directs you to exactly the same emergency call centre. The difference is that 112 works from any mobile phone from ANYWHERE in the world.
Send a text to 999 to access emergency medical assistance. Your text message will need to include: which service you need: ambulance, fire, police or coastguard. a short description of the problem.
ITU standard: 112 or 911
AP reports that member states have agreed that either 911 or 112 should be designated as emergency phone numbers – 911 is currently used in North America, while 112 is standard across the EU and in many other countries worldwide.
When asked how it happened, Rainbow says it involved a demon call from the phone number 999-9999. If one calls it after midnight and says a wish, the wish shall be granted later, but as a consequence, death will come to the caller.
The national standard sets out that all ambulance trusts must respond to Category 1 calls in 7 minutes on average and respond to 90% of Category 1 calls in 15 minutes.
999 is the official emergency number for the United Kingdom, but calls are also accepted on the European Union emergency number, 112. All calls are answered by 999 operators, and are always free.
If you press 55, they will be notified and transfer the call to the police. If you don't press 55, the call will be terminated. Pressing 55 does not allow police to track your location.
What if I need to call 999 but I'm deaf, hearing impaired, have a speech impediment or can't speak as it's unsafe? If you're deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment you can contact emergency services via text (SMS). If you find yourself in a situation where it is not safe to speak, you can also text 999.
"Typically we receive over 1,000 calls a day to the 999 number and our operatives have to deal with each one accordingly."
If you hang up, the call-taker is required to call you back. If that call-taker cannot reach you or a busy signal is heard, the call-taker will send police if the caller's location is known. Misdialed calls tie up emergency lines and police resources.
Simply by sending an SMS message to 999 you can call for help and the emergency services will be able to reply to you. You will need to register your mobile phone before using the emergencySMS service, click on the Registering your phone link above for more information. Click here to download the emergencySMS leaflet.
You can remain anonymous. If you call 911 by mistake, don't hang up. Stay on the line and tell the dispatcher it was a mistake. If you hang up, they will call you back and send a police officer to your location.
If you do need to contact the emergency services using your voice assistant, simply ask Siri to call 999 or “dial emergency services”. Siri gives you a five-second countdown, allowing users who have made a mistake to quickly cancel the call without causing any issues for the emergency services.
Siri is trained to recognise any emergency number so when you say 17 it recognises it as a French emergency number and calls your emergency services. It is a shortcut for calling emergency services.
We will send the documentary records we hold in hard copy by recorded delivery or secure email. We cannot usually provide transcripts of 999 call recordings.