Timely reminder on emergency hotlines

EMERGENCY. . . (from the left) fire officer Rob McDonagh, ambulance technician Sue Richardson and PC Darren Prince with the 999 message.

EMERGENCY services in Greater Manchester will mark 999 Day with a campaign to remind people how to make that all-important call.

Police, fire and ambulance crews will take advantage of the date — 09/09/09 — to highlight the importance of providing all the right information when dialling 999.

Emergency control rooms in Greater Manchester take an average of 6,300 calls a day.

And with more people making these calls from their mobiles than landlines, it is essential the details are taken down quickly under what are often stressful and challenging circumstances.

999 Day has also been launched to urge the public to ring 999 only in a real emergency, as tying up the lines unnecessarily puts people’s lives at risk.

Greater Manchester Police asks that 999 should only be used in an emergency where there is a threat to life or a crime in progress.

People should ring 0161-872 5050 for anything that’s not an emergency or to report a crime and call their Neighbourhood Policing Team with any concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour.

It is vital that anyone calling the ambulance service gives as much information as possible as to the whereabouts and the condition of the patient.

Once the location is established, callers will be led through a standard set of questions to ascertain how ill the patient is and what type of response is needed.

While the caller is answering these questions, the call-taker will have located the nearest available ambulance and, depending on the response required, it will be making its way to the incident.

Tony Ciaramella, assistant county fire officer (operations), said: “Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service responds to a great variety of incidents when answering 999 emergency calls — but a small minority of people abuse that service, and call the emergency services to hoax incidents.

“We would appeal to anyone making a hoax call, remember an emergency vehicle can’t be in two places at once — hoax calls cost lives.”