Calling an Ambulance to bush location

[timmyh80]

Just some thoughts and reflections on an experience today.

If you need to call an ambulance to a remote location, make sure you know the GPS location you are in.

We were up at the Pinnacles fire tower today when a member of our group had a fall. The lady who answered the phone did not comprehend there really wasn't a "closest town", there was no "street adress", even her attempt of "where does your mail get delivered to" didn't help her find us.

When she finally did work it out with GPS location, still wanted to send a normal Ambulance to site. Did not seem to understand that it is not that simple in the high country.

The supervisor that took over call listened and understood a lot better and dispatched an Helimed.

Don't be afraid to push for what you need if you ever have the unfortunate experience and need to call for help.

All is ok with our injured party member. Taken to hospital to get checked out though.

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[BaseCamp]

While we are on this topic...   someone once told me that in an emergency -  there is a number you can dial from your mobile - (when there is no cell coverage) ... that may hook you up to a satellite? - is that right?  ... and what is that emergency number. ....  thx

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[cassgazz]

I believe that the number is 112. It is meant to work even when there is no mobile phone reception.

[BaseCamp]

Ok thanks for the info....

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[GrantR]

You still need some mobile reception, just might not be your service provider. E.g an Optus customer without coverage will connect via a telstra tower. You won't be able to start communicating via sat from a cell phone

[tashem]

There is an app (of course)  called emergency+ that let's you get your GPS location for this very occasion..  It does other stuff as well but it's promoted for the GPS feature. It's available in Google play store and I imagine also in apple  .. It's a white plus sign on red background

[timmyh80]

There is also an app called latitude longitude that will give you the information you need.

The important thing is knowing how to get it, and more than one person in a group needs to know.

You can dial 000 from any mobile even if it has no sim card and it will work. My son did it the other day from an old phone we allowed him to use to play games on.

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[GeoffA]

There is an app (of course)  called emergency+ that let's you get your GPS location for this very occasion..  It does other stuff as well but it's promoted for the GPS feature. It's available in Google play store and I imagine also in apple  .. It's a white plus sign on red background

Thanks tash. It looks very handy.

[macca]

Pressing and holding a finger on your location in google maps will give you your lat and long position

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[oldmate]

Pressing and holding a finger on your location in google maps will give you your lat and long position

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Handy too know. But also you can get it from your hema or hema app


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[timmyh80]

Pressing and holding a finger on your location in google maps will give you your lat and long position

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Thanks Macca. I thought that there would have to be a way of getting it from Google maps, just couldn't work it out in the bush yesterday.

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[Daawl01]

There is an app (of course)  called emergency+ that let's you get your GPS location for this very occasion..  It does other stuff as well but it's promoted for the GPS feature. It's available in Google play store and I imagine also in apple  .. It's a white plus sign on red background

My vote goes for the emergency+ App & yes available in iTunes.


What the app looks on the inside. If it can give you a street address it will, otherwise just lat long.



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[doc evil]

also another unknown bit of information, in rural areas, the property number is the distance from the start of that road.

eg, 11476 lostmyshoes road is 11476 meters for the start of that road.

Well I do know that it is implemented in WA, dunno about other states

[Daawl01]

also another unknown bit of information, in rural areas, the property number is the distance from the start of that road.

eg, 11476 lostmyshoes road is 11476 meters for the start of that road.

Well I do know that it is implemented in WA, dunno about other states

Unfortunately here in NSW it was up to councils to implement, most have, some haven't, also it is used/measures a little differently here.
For example 9L is 900meters on the left, 97L is 9.7km on the left


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[KingBilly]

also another unknown bit of information, in rural areas, the property number is the distance from the start of that road.

eg, 11476 lostmyshoes road is 11476 meters for the start of that road.

Well I do know that it is implemented in WA, dunno about other states

Same in Qld

KB

[Paddler Ed]

Website I found over on expedition portal called findmesar.com works nicely, no need for an app, just runs online (fine with a connection...) scroll through the coordinates' options to get lat and long.

[achjimmy]

Website I found over on expedition portal called findmesar.com works nicely, no need for an app, just runs online (fine with a connection...) scroll through the coordinates' options to get lat and long.

Probs with that is it requires data. The emergency app above uses phones gps for location then calls through what ever reception is available Telstra, vodka or Optus. About the best you'll get through the cell network.

[LC]

The other option if you regularly go places with limited or no mobile reception is a PLB (epirb) or one of the many variants. Less than $300 - activate it and help comes to you. Works almost anywhere in the world.

[#jonesy]

also another unknown bit of information, in rural areas, the property number is the distance from the start of that road.

eg, 11476 lostmyshoes road is 11476 meters for the start of that road.

Well I do know that it is implemented in WA, dunno about other states

Vic is every 10 metres. So number 220 is 2200 metres or 2.2 km from east to west and from south to north. Google maps isn't too accurate giving the rural address. My parents are at 220 and google shows they owns the first 2.2 km. Even though there are at least other properties (without houses)

Even with the street numbering my old man bitches and moans about it. Any emergency service will come from the west so he thinks they will have to drive past his house to get to the start of the road and then come back again, the first part is almost a goat track.

[WilSurf]

A few years ago a group of our 4wd club went to Israelite Bay.
One of them was bitten by a snake and the emergency was called in by Satphone.
Even though the SES supposed to be in the known of bush emergencies, the lady had no idea where Israelite Bay in NSW was.
That's correct, it is in WA as told by our club.
She was the same: postcode, address etc.
No idea that there is anything outside the city it seemed.
It took a long time before they arranged for an ambulance to go that way.
Mind you: a normal ambo. And you guessed it, it was bogged.
So the patient was loaded in the car and raced over the tracks towards Esperance.

[Troopy_03]

You still need some mobile reception, just might not be your service provider. E.g an Optus customer without coverage will connect via a telstra tower. You won't be able to start communicating via sat from a cell phone

This is important to remember. Many people are still under the impression that if you have no reception, your phone will communicate via satellite, when using 112. It doesn't, as Grant stated, you still need to have reception from at least one provider, and your phone will use roaming to connect to whichever provider has service in the area. If there is no phone coverage at all, you won't be able to call, or use the emergency app for that matter.

It's worth having a look at this page for info: http://www.triplezero.gov.au/Pages/Usingotheremergencynumbers.aspx

[Titfish]

I think I mght have seen this somewhere on here before. I can't remember who posted it or if, indeed I first saw it somewhere else. Have a look. I thought it was an interesting concept and may be of use in these type of situations
http://what3words.com

Cheers
Ken

[macca]

The other option if you regularly go places with limited or no mobile reception is a PLB (epirb) or one of the many variants. Less than $300 - activate it and help comes to you. Works almost anywhere in the world.

Just remember tho, that activating a PLB instigates a full AMSAR (or whatever they call themselves now) emergency in Canberra and from my experience  in my old yachtie days they get a bit upset if its not a "life in eminent  danger" emergency. Not saying that the OP's situation wasnt

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[Pete79]

Vic is every 10 metres. So number 220 is 2200 metres or 2.2 km from east to west and from south to north. Google maps isn't too accurate giving the rural address. My parents are at 220 and google shows they owns the first 2.2 km. Even though there are at least other properties (without houses)

Even with the street numbering my old man bitches and moans about it. Any emergency service will come from the west so he thinks they will have to drive past his house to get to the start of the road and then come back again, the first part is almost a goat track.

My understanding is that this is a national standard. Our place in QLD is number 99 and the driveway is exactly 990m from the start of the road.
If NSW councils are choosing not to follow this standard, then it's just another example of their arrogance.... 

A few years ago a group of our 4wd club went to Israelite Bay.
One of them was bitten by a snake and the emergency was called in by Satphone.
Even though the SES supposed to be in the known of bush emergencies, the lady had no idea where Israelite Bay in NSW was.
That's correct, it is in WA as told by our club.
She was the same: postcode, address etc.
No idea that there is anything outside the city it seemed.
It took a long time before they arranged for an ambulance to go that way.
Mind you: a normal ambo. And you guessed it, it was bogged.
So the patient was loaded in the car and raced over the tracks towards Esperance.

I had written a very similar story, but deleted it.
On a 4wding trip we had come across a vehicle that had left the road and rolled a good 100m or more down a very steep paddock. A motorbike rider was first at the scene and had called the ambos. The road was a loop circuit, started as a well formed gravel road from the east before turning into a proper 4wd track further west, then linking back onto the main road. The exact location was given (which was on the normal road), but the ambos insisted they had to come from the west and their 4wd vehicle wasn't available.

And another was at work many years ago, we had someone squashed by a (slow moving) locomotive, the ambulance station was about 5km away from the incident, the call center was 100km away and the operator dispatched an ambulance to a location with a similar name, only it was 200km in the wrong direction. The person was removed from the scene by his work mates and taken to the ambulance station in the back of a work ute.

If it's not a house in a well signed street call center operators often struggle.
Usually the local emergency services know the rural areas and how to get there, it's the centralized call centers in metro areas staffed by numpties that cause the problems.

[EagleBoy]

My understanding is that this is a national standard. Our place in QLD is number 99 and the driveway is exactly 990m from the start of the road.
If NSW councils are choosing not to follow this standard, then it's just another example of their arrogance.... 

I'm in NSW and it is the same, I am number 70 and 700m down the road.