Chapter 2: Calling for Help

What Can Happen

A care worker is walking back from the shops with a woman she supports, who uses a wheelchair. On a quiet road outside the town, they see that a car has left the road and stopped against a fence, and the driver is sitting very still behind the wheel. The care worker moves the wheelchair well away from the road, puts the brakes on and takes out her phone. Then she stops, because she realises that she does not know the name of the road and is not sure which direction they have been walking. She looks around for a sign, a junction or anything that could tell the ambulance where to come.

The emergency call is one of the most important parts of first aid, and it is often the first thing you do. A clear call sends the right help to the right place quickly, and the operator on the line can guide you through the first aid until help arrives. This chapter explains, step by step, how to make the call and how to describe where you are, especially on a road. It also explains how to help the ambulance crew reach the person, how to tell your workplace and the family, and what to do when you and the operator do not share a language.

Step by Step: Making the Emergency Call

Step 1. Decide quickly who will call. If other people are nearby, choose one person and speak to them directly, for example: "You, in the green jacket, please call the emergency number and then come back and tell me." A direct request works better than a general shout, because in a group each person may think that someone else has already called. If you are alone, make the call yourself and stay beside the person. If a second helper is there and a defibrillator may be nearby, ask that helper to bring it. If you are alone with a person who is not breathing normally, call first with the speaker on, and then start CPR while the operator guides you; Chapter 4 explains CPR.

Step 2. Call the emergency number that you learned from official information for the place where you are. Put the phone on speaker and keep it close, so that your hands are free to help the person while you talk. Many mobile phones can make an emergency call from the locked screen, so learn how your own phone does this before you ever need it.

Step 3. Tell the operator which service you need if you are asked, and then say where you are. Give the location first, before the details of what happened. If the call is cut off, the emergency service still knows where to send help. In a building, give the full address, the name of the building or care home, the floor, and the number of the room or flat. The next section explains how to describe a place on a road.

Step 4. Say what has happened and how many people need help. Then describe how the person is: whether the person is awake and answering, whether the person is breathing normally, whether there is heavy bleeding, and roughly how old the person is. Say when it happened or when you first noticed the change, because the time can matter for the treatment. If you know something important from the care plan, such as a heart condition or diabetes, say it briefly.

Step 5. Answer the operator's questions calmly and as simply as you can. The questions follow a set order that helps the operator decide what help is needed and how urgently. In many emergency services, help may already be on its way while the operator is still asking questions, so answering them does not slow the ambulance down. If you do not know an answer, say so; that is useful information too.

Step 6. Follow the operator's instructions. The operator may tell you how to check the person's breathing, how to place the person in the recovery position, how to give CPR, or how to cool a person with heatstroke. Listen, do each thing as you are told, and say clearly if you cannot do something, for example because you cannot kneel or the person is too heavy to turn.

Step 7. Do not end the call until the operator tells you that you may. If you must step away for a moment, for example to unlock the door, tell the operator first. Keep the phone near you after the call ends, because the emergency service or the ambulance crew may call you back. If the person's condition changes before help arrives, for example if the person stops breathing normally or becomes harder to wake, call the emergency number again at once.

Step 8. When the person is safe and help is on its way or has arrived, tell your workplace as your procedures say. Do this after the emergency call, never instead of it and never before it. The last topic section of this chapter explains this in more detail.

Step by Step: Describing Where You Are on a Road

Step 1. Before every outing, learn the route. Know the names of the main roads you will use, the area you will pass through, and the address of the place you are going to. If your workplace asks you to leave the route or the plan for the day with the office, do so, because it helps your colleagues to find you if anything goes wrong.

Step 2. When you need to call from a road, look for the road name. Road names are often shown on signs at junctions, on the corners of buildings and on bus stops. If you can see a house number, a building name or the name of a nearby business, give it to the operator as well. If you cannot see a sign, look back along the way you came and think about the last junction you passed.

Step 3. Say which way you were travelling and which side of the road you are on. On a long road, the operator needs to know the direction, for example towards which town or which large landmark you were heading. On a wide road with traffic in both directions, an ambulance on the wrong side may have to travel a long way to turn around.

Step 4. Describe what you can see around you. Landmarks such as a bridge, a fuel station, a school, a place of worship, a park entrance or a named bus stop help the crew find the exact spot. On some large roads, small marker posts or signs along the edge show numbers that tell the emergency service exactly where you are, so read out any number you can see.

Step 5. Use the map on your phone to see your location, and read the address or the position it shows to the operator. In some places, phones send their location to the emergency service automatically during an emergency call, but you should still describe where you are in words. Keep the location setting of your phone switched on during outings so that the map can find you quickly.

Step 6. If you are not sure where you are, say so honestly and describe everything you can see and hear. The operator is trained to help you work out your location with questions. If another person is with you, ask that person to walk safely to the nearest junction or sign and read it, while you stay with the person who needs help.

Step 7. If the person you support becomes seriously unwell while you are driving, stop the car as soon as you can do so safely, in a place where stopping is allowed and away from fast traffic. Switch on the hazard lights, then call the emergency number and give your location as described above. When a person is seriously ill, waiting for the ambulance is usually safer than driving the person to hospital yourself, because the crew can begin treatment on the spot and you can give your full attention to the person.

Helping the Ambulance Reach You

An ambulance crew can only help once they reach the person, and the last part of the journey is often the hardest. A house number may be hidden by plants, a building may have several entrances, and in a large care home the crew may not know which corridor or floor to go to. Anything you do to make that last part easier saves time. Think about it as part of the call, not as something separate from the first aid. Before any emergency happens, look at each home you visit from the street as a crew would see it: is the house number easy to read, even at night?

If there is another person with you, send that person to meet the ambulance. At a home, the helper can wait at the gate or the end of the drive; in a block of flats, at the main entrance and the lift; on a road, at the nearest junction, standing safely away from traffic. The helper should wave clearly when the ambulance appears and then lead the crew to the person. If you are alone, stay with the person and tell the operator any detail that will help the crew find you.

In a home, there are several small things you can do while you wait, as long as you do not leave a person who needs you. At night, switch on the outside light and the lights in the hallway. Unlock the front door and open the gate. Put pets in another room, and move rugs, bags or furniture that would block a stretcher. If the home has a key box or a door code, tell the operator how the crew can get in, following your workplace's procedures about sharing this.

In a care home or a day centre, your workplace's procedures usually say who calls, who meets the ambulance at the entrance, who brings the person's care plan and list of medicines as the workplace keeps them, and who stays with the other people in the building. Learn your own role in this plan. Taking part in practice drills at work makes these roles feel natural on the day they are needed.

On a road, the scene itself must stay safe while you wait. If you are with a parked car, switch on its hazard lights, and wear a high-visibility vest if you have one. Never stand in the road to stop traffic or to wave down the ambulance. Chapter 9 explains how to make a road accident scene safe, step by step.

Telling Others and Calling Across Languages

Your workplace needs to know about any emergency involving a person you support, and your procedures say whom to tell and how. Usually this means calling your supervisor or office as soon as the person is safe and help is on the way. Never wait for permission from the office before you call the emergency number. In an emergency, the call to the emergency service always comes first, and a good workplace will always support you for making it. Note the time of the call and what you did, because your workplace will ask for a report later; Chapter 15 explains recording and reporting.

The family or other contacts named in the care plan also need to know, but your procedures may say that the office, not you, will tell them. Follow these procedures carefully, because they protect the person's privacy and make sure that the right people hear the news in the right way. If you are asked to call the family yourself, speak calmly, say what happened, where the person is being taken if you know it, and whom the family can contact for more information.

You may sometimes need to call in a place where you do not speak the language well, for example on a trip with the person you support. Many emergency services can connect an interpreter to the call. Say the name of your own language clearly and slowly, and stay on the line while the operator arranges help. Before any trip, learn the emergency number from official information, and keep the address of the place where you are staying written down in the local language, so that you can read it out or show it to someone who can help.

Some of the people you support may speak a different language from yours, or may communicate with signs, pictures or a communication board. The care plan usually explains how each person communicates best and who can help, such as a family member. In an emergency, the operator or the ambulance crew may also need to speak with the person, and an interpreter can help with this too. Tell the operator early which language the person speaks, so that help can be arranged. A small card in the person's bag with their language, their main health conditions and a contact, prepared as the care plan allows, can help any helper who meets them.

Some people cannot easily speak on the phone, for example because of hearing loss or a speech difficulty, and this may include colleagues or the person you support. In some places there is a way to contact the emergency service by text message or another written method, sometimes after registering in advance. Find out from official information what is available where you work, and tell the people who might need it.

Things to Check

Check that you know how to make an emergency call from the locked screen of your own phone. Try the steps without completing a call, so that your hands know them on the day.

Check that the full address of each home you visit is written in the file or near the phone, together with the floor or flat number and any directions the crew would need to find the right door.

Check the route before each outing, including the names of the main roads, and leave the plan with your office if your workplace asks you to.

Check that your phone is charged and that its location setting is switched on before you leave for an outing. The map on your phone can then show where you are when you need it.

Check that the contacts your procedures name, such as your supervisor and the office, are saved in your phone, so that you can tell them quickly after the emergency call.

Check that you could say the four main things an operator needs: where you are, what has happened, how many people need help, and how the person is. Practise saying them aloud with a colleague.

Check the communication needs written in the care plan of each person you support, and before any trip, check how to get an interpreter and how to show the address in the local language.