Whether by design or accident, toddlers are pretty handy at dialling 999... so, if you've realised they've done it, try and stay on the line and let the operator know, otherwise, answer the call-back you'll get.
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.
It is a common misconception that children could be too young to understand the idea of calling an emergency services number. In fact, children as young as 3 or 4 will be able to call 999 and ask for help, should they ever need it.
Call 999 from a landline
If you don't speak or answer questions and the operator can only hear background noise, they'll transfer your call to the police. If you replace the handset, the landline may remain connected for 45 seconds in case you pick it up again.
You can't easily block calls to emergency services.
You should call 999 in a life-threatening emergency only. Life-threatening emergencies are different for adults and children.
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.
After the call ends, your iPhone will ping the emergency service with your current location, unless you choose to cancel. If Location Services is off, it will temporarily turn on. If your location changes, your contacts will get an update, and you'll get a notification about 10 minutes later.
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.
In an emergency situation, you need help fast.
The Relay UK service lets deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired people in the UK alert police, ambulance, fire, or coastguard services by either calling via a relay assistant or texting a message to 999 using our emergencySMS service.
Its name is a reference to a law enforcement radio code: 999. It means, "Officer needs emergency help." But, in this case, it's not a reference to an officer in need. It's a reference to children in need.
Call the emergency services
Make the call on iPhone 8 or later: Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears. Drag the Emergency Call slider to call the emergency services.
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.
The health service's own handbook sets out that 999 crews should take no longer than 7 minutes, on average, to respond to these calls.
Ambulance services are measured on the time it takes from receiving a 999 call to the vehicle arriving at the patient's location. It should take 8 minutes for the ambulance to arrive if the call is life threatening or an emergency. Ambulance services often send more than one vehicle to try to meet the 8 minute target.
Under the Security settings, you should see an option for "Emergency Rescue." Tap on it. 4. In the Emergency Rescue settings, you have the option to "Enable power button for emergency help." Toggle this off to disable the emergency call feature.
PLEASE NOTE: The UK and American emergency numbers (999 and 911) will NOT generally work on Australian phones.
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.
Text 999
When you have no signal, not even a 999/112 call will work, but a text might. Sending a text requires much less signal strength and the phone will keep tying to send the text for a short period meaning there is greater chance of the message getting through if you are moving or in an area of variable reception.
What does SOS mean? The letter sequence SOS (pronounced S-O-S) is used in Morse code as a distress signal—a way to call for help during an emergency, such as on a ship. Morse code uses clicks and pauses, short and long sounds, or flashes of light to represent letters and numbers.
How to call 999. You can call an ambulance by using 999 or 112. If you are deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired you can contact us by texting from your mobile.
If you see SOS or "SOS only" in the status bar, your device isn't connected to a network, but you can still make emergency calls. This feature is available in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
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.
We need as much information as possible from you about the patient's condition as this will help us assess what response to make. The extra information also helps us to make sure you get the most appropriate help. The better the understanding of the patient's condition, the better our staff will be able to help you.
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.