It is reassuring to know as an Australian citizen that our emergency services are there for us when we call them. If you have never been in a situation where you have to call out any of the emergency services, then you have been quite lucky up until this point in your life but there will come a time when the responsibility will be down to you to make the necessary call. It is a high-stress situation and the important thing that you need to remember is to not panic and to provide as much clear detail as possible.
The people on the other side of the phone know how to handle difficult situations and so it will be their job to point you in the right direction.
There is a lack of knowledge however in Australia when it comes to calling out ambulance services for example and many wrongfully assume that this is a free service. The opposite is in fact true and so knowing that a payment has to be made actually stops people from calling out the emergency services in the first place.
This is a terrible situation to find yourself in and it can all be avoided as long as you make sure that you have ambulance cover only. This is a policy that covers you for such a situation and so the following are just some other things that you need to know when calling out the emergency services.
- Stay calm always – I know this is a lot easier said than done but you can’t convey your message to the emergency responder if you are panicking and you are not speaking clearly. Take a deep breath and then try to explain what has happened. The professionals on the other end of the phone will obviously be there to help and to get you to give them the information that they need. This could be a life and death situation so try to remain calm at all times and ensure that the emergency responders can help.
- Be aware of your surroundings – Many of us just walk around blindly every single day because we know exactly where we have come from and we know where we are going. In an emergency situation however many of us can’t piece together all of the information that we need to give an accurate description of where we actually are at that given time. When making the call, have a look around you and look for place names so that you can provide essential information and you can answer the questions clearly.
There will also be a number of questions that you will need to answer and so you need to be ready for that. They will be asking you what exactly happened and the condition of the people who have been involved in the accident. Do not try to lead the conversation and leave it up to the professionals to guide you.
