Gransnet forums

Ask a gran

Being morbid? Or sensible?

(70 Posts)
NittWitt Mon 17-Jun-24 23:14:03

A friend and I are in a couple of groups together. At one group, today, the public liability insurance was mentioned.
That caused my friend, later, to say to me that the groups we're in should have our next of kin info.
I said it's not necessary because if someone becomes unconscious, you need to call a doctor or ambulance.
And if they are conscious they can tell you then who to call, or else you still need a doctor or ambulance.

So, do you think she's right that groups should ask for next of kin details?

Mollygo Sun 23-Jun-24 00:10:30

petra
I was surprised to learn that a number of members of one choir I sing with do not have mobile phones.

petra Sat 22-Jun-24 22:15:01

Ladyleftfieldlover

As Secretary of our local WI, I asked all the ladies for ICE details.

On my iPhone I have ICE details - ICE Son 1, ICE daughter etc., the thing is a pass code is needed to open my phone!

It doesn’t stop the emergency services accessing ICE.

petra Sat 22-Jun-24 22:13:18

I’m amazed at the number of people who don’t know about ICE. It must be about 20 years ago it came out.

Ladyleftfieldlover Sat 22-Jun-24 22:09:24

As Secretary of our local WI, I asked all the ladies for ICE details.

On my iPhone I have ICE details - ICE Son 1, ICE daughter etc., the thing is a pass code is needed to open my phone!

petra Sat 22-Jun-24 22:08:02

dalrymple23

Goodness. I knew nothing about this and never thought about it. How do I instruct my phone to deal with ICE? At the moment I only have a brick phone. My partner has a smart phone but he has never heard of ICE.

NoK is great for legal purposes but not much good when the person in question is on the other side of the world but one has been hit by a car down the road!!!

Advice/instructions from anyone please

Go to settings.
Tap About phone
Tap Emergency
Tap update
Add numbers.

petra Sat 22-Jun-24 22:02:15

Deedaa

My husband went out for a day's shooting with a local club. During the afternoon one man had a heart attack. Obviously an ambulance was called, but sadly the man died. If they hadn't had next of kin details his poor wife would have known nothing until the party returned without him.

If your husband’s friend had had 2 ICE numbers on his phone the wife/ or another would have been contacted.
Locked phones can still be activated.

Deedaa Sat 22-Jun-24 21:56:43

My husband went out for a day's shooting with a local club. During the afternoon one man had a heart attack. Obviously an ambulance was called, but sadly the man died. If they hadn't had next of kin details his poor wife would have known nothing until the party returned without him.

dalrymple23 Sat 22-Jun-24 21:39:43

Goodness. I knew nothing about this and never thought about it. How do I instruct my phone to deal with ICE? At the moment I only have a brick phone. My partner has a smart phone but he has never heard of ICE.

NoK is great for legal purposes but not much good when the person in question is on the other side of the world but one has been hit by a car down the road!!!

Advice/instructions from anyone please

grandtanteJE65 Fri 21-Jun-24 19:25:07

I would not necessarily want every group I belong to to have details of my next of kin etc, but I do have a note with the names and telephone numbers of two people headed ( in three languages) Please contact in the case of an accident or emergency.

The reason for giving two names is that the nearest relation lives at the other end of the country, and as I have two cats that would need feeding before he could reasonably get to whatever hospital or morgue I was in, I have included a near neighbour to deal with the animals, after prior arrangement with her.

This to me is a sensible precaution in line with having a valid will and a provisional power of attorney.

Rainwashed Fri 21-Jun-24 17:29:34

Thank you B9exchange, I was in a hurry earlier and didn’t read the full thread.

Dizzyribs Fri 21-Jun-24 16:14:30

Sorry for repeating the ice information. I missed a page of the thread by accident.
Most groups I attend regularly have a column on the register marked “ice” and when we go on group outings the organisers take a copy with them. Most of the insurance regulations require it, but it’s good practice anyway

Dizzyribs Fri 21-Jun-24 16:04:50

The emergency services will first look for “ICE” as a contact in your phone- it stands for “in case of emergency “ . Most phones have a facility for entering this and any specific medical information that you feel may be useful - in brief- (allergies, diabetes, epilepsy etc) The the ambulance or hospital can access it from your Lock Screen of your phone quickly.
It puts the red star mentioned next to the contacts you highlight into your contacts automatically too.

fluttERBY123 Fri 21-Jun-24 16:00:40

Good question. I wouldn't say next of kin though. As long as everybody in the group knows useful details about some of the others. Most people have mobile phones on them, useful. But I know at least three people who haven't. Might be a good idea to strike up.a conversation about the issue in the groups if your friend is worried about this.

Cambsnan Fri 21-Jun-24 15:32:09

I was on a walk once where a gentleman had what turned out to be a stroke. He was new to the group and while we knew his name we didn’t know anything else about him and could the the ambulance nothing.

Vintagegirl Fri 21-Jun-24 15:16:56

I have "ICE" ( in case of emergency) included on my phone in 'contacts'. But latest phone is fingerprint or pin protected so not sure how it works with that? My husband wears an ID bracelet with info re warfarin. My mother in law was fatally injured in a traffic accident and it was two days before she was identified. Her description which was on radio/newpapers were incorrect. We had impressed on her not to carry a handbag or purse when in her locality due to risk of mugging. This was in 1998 so before phones generally used.

undines Fri 21-Jun-24 14:27:06

It depends on the type of 'group' I guess. I think it's going a bit far, and yet another responsibility for the person in charge (I speak as Chairperson of a local society). After all, any of us could pass out anywhere, at any time, such as in a shop or on the street. I think one can be too obsessed with this sort of thing

theblackmansanswer Fri 21-Jun-24 14:15:12

I get where your friend is coming from, wanting to be prepared for emergencies and all. But personally, I think asking for next of kin details might be a bit much for regular groups. Most of the time, if something serious happens, you're going to call emergency services anyway.

HazelEyes Fri 21-Jun-24 13:46:14

V3ra

^But how do people open your phone for the information?^

On your phone lock screen, where you enter the passcode numbers you should also see a button that says "emergency"

On my Android that brings up a phone keypad, plus another button that says "view emergency info."

Go into that one and you can enter your details eg medical information and emergency contacts.

Anyone can access this information without knowing the passcode for your phone.
I was shown this facility at a First Aid training course.

This, I've set up 4 emergency contacts. All can be accessed with the phone locked.

Nannarose Fri 21-Jun-24 13:43:12

I still have ICE contacts listed - we were asked to do that in the early days of mobiles, and I've kept it up.
As for groups - I think it is up to the group / organiser to decide. I go to a couple of informal / drop-in groups and it would feel rather clunky.
I think that if there is a specific organiser, it is up to them - but a group could decide that it would be a good idea.
Definitely not morbid!

V3ra Fri 21-Jun-24 13:43:03

But how do people open your phone for the information?

On your phone lock screen, where you enter the passcode numbers you should also see a button that says "emergency"

On my Android that brings up a phone keypad, plus another button that says "view emergency info."

Go into that one and you can enter your details eg medical information and emergency contacts.

Anyone can access this information without knowing the passcode for your phone.
I was shown this facility at a First Aid training course.

mokryna Fri 21-Jun-24 13:02:42

rafichagran

lemsip

on my phone I have the word 'son' next to his name, so anyone needing to look at it will know who to contact.

Good idea, I have just edited my daughters name with Daughter at the end. I never thought of this before.

But how do people open your phone for the information?

rocketship Fri 21-Jun-24 12:57:23

Excellent idea!!! Our coffee group has an 'in case of emergency' contact list. smile

Ktsmum Fri 21-Jun-24 12:41:03

You can save an emergency number under ICE in the contacts on yr phone, stands fot In Case of Emergency

B9exchange Fri 21-Jun-24 12:30:48

Perhaps we posted at the same time Rainwashed, but the answer is above.smile

knspol Fri 21-Jun-24 12:29:39

My phone has a section for contact numbers and you can put a red asterisk next to names and when they are selected there's a
red banner displayed that shows 'emergency contact'. I have my son's name on the list as an emergency contact and have just realised that my late DH is still listed as such.