What if...?

Really speaking then everybody should wear a personal alarm, as you could have a fall/emergency at any age. Anyway who answers the emergency call? Family or directly to the emergency services if you don't have family nearby?

Good point Bluesky, I was just about to ask the same question! Very useful post you've started, I didn't know about the ICE facility so have learned something useful, thanks.

You can put in your mobile phone ICE it stands for incase of emergency it's something emergency services look for all you do is put it in as a contact put ice then the daughter or son and their phone number this is good to have for anyone even them who live alone and dont go out like me

I too carry a card with my husband and son's names and telephone numbers on it our address and telephone numbers.

It also has information as to the things I am allergic to.

Most countries, except Denmark and the UK require you to carry proof of your identity at all times, so when travelling abroad I always carry my passport.

My aunt, who lived alone until her death at 89, had in her latter years and agreement with a next-door neighbour that whichever woman got up first phoned the other to wish her good morning. If she got no reply, she used the spare key to the other flat to make sure the other person was alive and well.

My dad aalways had a notebook in his jacket pocket. He had his details and our contact details inside the front cover and if he was travelling any distance, to visit relatives etc, he would write there details in the book too.
He died in his sleep but luckily he was due to go out to a painting class with a neighbour and when she couldn't contact him by mid morning ( to check if they were lunching first) she went to look through the letterbox and saw the living room curtains were still shut so contacted another neighbour who had a key and they went in and found him. Unfortunately we had the shock of the police turning up on our doorstep to inform us.

This is something I worry about, because I'm a recluse. If anything happened to me, my pets would starve because no-one would notice I wasn't around.

My children come up if ICE is searched on my phone.

Ladymuck and others who live alone, is there a close friend or relative you can send a text to every morning saying 'Good morning, I'm still standing!' Maybe at 10am every day. If there is no text they can phone you. If you are unwell you can send 'Help me'. It's the only way you can be sure someone will be alerted to your plight. There are also 'alarms for the elderly' (Google search) as I said before.

make sure you got a book with contact numbers in .for emergencies .and in a good place that someone would find it IF there was an emegency.

If you were to both die or be seriously injured in a car accident the police would trace you using your car registration number. This gives them access to a digital copy of your driving license so they can confirm identity. They could then gain access to your home and contact family etc.
Personal alarms, message in a bottle and ICE are all godsends to emergency services. You can also add medications, allergies and medical conditions to the ICE screen on your mobile phone.
Something to think about is also a Keysafe, it saves us having to get the fire service out to break in which gives added trauma while you’re lying on the floor with a broken hip or worse!

Please don't confuse having kin listed under ICE in your contacts with the Emergency Call screen.
Your contacts can only be accessed if the phone can be unlocked. The emergency call screen is accessible from the screen where you type your PIN.

Well, if in a car the registration would hive details of the owner so at least that person would be traceable. There is very little not known about us nowadays. Your name will be on a massive amount of databases eg car insurance, NHS, energy suppliers, council tax, credit companies, DWP, don't think you should worry about not being traceable. If you are unconscious, unable to communicate, the police will investigate using all resources as well as entering your home to try to get details if all else fails. Living alone is a different ballgame and unless you have some kind of system whereby your absence is noticed you may well be left until the neighbours notice!! Very unlikely of course unless you are a hermit. Always have contact details in your home.

Ellianne - Assuming your mobile phone were retrieved from an accident they would look at ICE.

I have both my husband and my daughter as ICE1 and ICE2 in my phone. However, my phone will not allow me to NOT have a PIN code to access it, so really, they're quite useless if no one can see them.

Hetty58
our last house, we had to have new floorboards fitted. My husband was only too aware of the likely cause of a huge brown stain near the fireplace!

Not sure what this has to do with this thread??

Pittcity - "On an Android phone you go to Contacts and find your profile... there should be an option to add emergency contacts, medical details and other notes. All these are accessible by pressing Emergency Call on the PIN screen."

Well I did not know that, so this thread has been very useful. I have now updated my information into the emergency section.

Thank you!!

sweetcakes I think perhaps what Hetty meant was that the stain could have been where someone had died in the past and not been found for some time.

You are welcome HurdyGurdy

I'm sure a similar thing applies to iPhones.

I agree HurdyGurdy very useful although my phone is never locked.
Unfortunately my DM was not found after a fall for 12 hours and then by a neighbour who had her key. She wasn't dead but had fallen and broken her hip and couldn't move.
Her alarm was on the mantlepiece....

My MiL was admonished this week by a social worker for not wearing her alarm. She said she was worried to set it off by mistake and have ambulances rushing round.
The SW explained that someone would call her? and she could tell them if it was a true emergency.

My mother had a personal alarm which was on a chain round her neck. It was supplied by the local council, who would notify someone if it was activated. However she was told to take it off at night in bed, as it would be activated if she rolled on it. She used to leave it on the bedside table. One night she got out of bed to use the bathroom, fell over and had a stroke. She could not reach her alarm as it was on the opposite side of the bed. I used to phone her every night at 6 if I had not been to see her. When she didn't answer we went down to find her lying on the floor. She had probably been there since the previous night. So sad.

Apart from the fact that my daughter speaks to me every day, I always carry my driving licence and bus pass in my handbag. My daughter knows all my bank accounts and everything else that she would need
Unfortunately my next door neighbour died suddenly a few years ago and was in the house for 4 days before I notified the police to check. His little dog was very distressed when the police brought him to me to look after until arrangements could be made for him,

I think there are alarms which you wear around your wrist, and if you're in fragile health then these should probably not be taken off unless someone else is there.

How useful it would be if there was a wrist band that set off an alarm if there was a drop in your vital functions, pulse or temperature or something.

I guess there's only so much any of us can do, then whatever happens it's fate...

Well that's true. And not everyone wants to be resuscitated when they're on their last legs anyway. I think it's nice to know you won't be left there for days or weeks, although you won't be worrying when it happens (unless you have pets). I guess it's up to us to plan for an event in the home, try to foresee what could happen and how we might deal with it.

I believe it is possible for humans to be microchipped. This will work the same as it does for our pets. I wouldn't mind, as my mind gets worse, I believe that I may need to be returned home, at some stage in my future life.

I also have a list of contacts on a table by the front door so anyone with access to the house can use it . I keep a card with details in my purse as well .