Emergency on Somme

[KIRKY]

Hi silly question but what number do I ring on my mobile for Ambulance, Doctors or Police ? Due a visit to Somme next week and wife asked this important question!

Tony

[burlington]

Tony

According to the Rough Guide:

<quote>

Medical ring 15

Police ditto 17

Fire ditto 18

Call fire brigade for medical problems as they have paramedic training & equipment.

</quote>

As to what prefix etc you call on your MOBILE??? though I assume it is the same prefix as you dial from UK 0033

Have a good trip!

Martin

Anyone else?

[uncle bill]

as Martin has already stated the fire brigade ( pompiers) are the ones who generally attend an emergency, sometimes the SAMU. You shouldn't need to add a prefix, make sure your mobile is ok for use in France before you go and it should switch automatically to the french network.

[Tom Morgan]

Remember also that 1-1-2 is the international emergency number for GSM mobile phone networks and it also works from landlines, I think.

Tom

[Andrew Hesketh]

Remember also that 1-1-2 is the international emergency number for GSM mobile phone networks and it also works from landlines, I think.

Tom

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Correct. I had a massively embarrassing moment at work the other week when I rang 112 by mistake (many of our internal numbers are three digit). I don't think the chap at the other end was best pleased despite my profuse and grovelling apology.

[Tom Morgan]

Correct. I had a massively embarrassing moment at work the other week when I rang 112 by mistake (many of our internal numbers are three digit). I don't think the chap at the other end was best pleased despite my profuse and grovelling apology. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Andrew - never tried ringing it myself I'm glad to say, but just out of interest - does it connect you to the same people you would have got if you'd rung 999?

Tom

[Steve Bramley]

Tom,

I went on a first aid at Work course a couple of weeks ago and our instructor told us that 112 has been our official emergency number for a while now, but 999 is still in use. It connects just the same. We are the only country in Europe to have two emergency numbers. Both get you through.

He also said that 999 will remain in use.

Steve.

[Tom Morgan]

Thanks, Steve, I thought that must be the case.

Tom

[healdav]

112 should connect you to whatever service covers emergency services wherever you are.

This is a complicated way of saying that if you dial 112 in Britain you will get the 999 operator and in some other countries the central operations room, in others the police. This applies on all telephones thoughout the EU (in principle at least, the new countries may be a bit icky for the moment)

The number was brought in for precisely the reason you asked the question. So many people did not have a clue who to phone in an emergency. I'm told that the system doesn't work too weel and you may well find that the bloke at the other end doesn't speak English - he probably won't speak Greek either, but there is little that can be done about that.

Anyway, either dial 112 or the numbers you were given for the individual services. No prefixes required for either 112 or the other numbers. You should even find that if you are just about out of coverage for mobiles that your display will say 'emergency calls only' (the receivers are tuned to pick up this number when all others have failed) - the EU forced this through to give you a better chance of reaching someone when you really are in trouble.

[KIRKY]

Thanks for all of your help. My wife now feels happier when I am wandering the fields with my son!

Tony

[healdav]

Tom,

I went on a first aid at Work course a couple of weeks ago and our instructor told us that 112 has been our official emergency number for a while now, but 999 is still in use. It connects just the same. We are the only country in Europe to have two emergency numbers. Both get you through.

  He also said that 999 will remain in use.

Steve.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It isn't strictly true that Britain is the only country with 2 numbers, as several countries have 112 and something like 17/18 etc to get the individual services. 112 will normally, I think, get you the police who will sort thigns out if there isn't a dedicated operator or emergency centre.

What is true is that Britain was the only country to cause a fuss about the new number. "If we don't have 999 any more, civilisation as we know it will come to and end". "British emergencies are not the same as foreign emergencies".

Actually, there was never any proposal to do away with 999, the proposal was always that 112 should be an ADDITIONAL number common to all. However, some countries did change to 112 (mostly from 012) and 112 was chosen because some countries already used it.