FAQ: Bushwalk Safety/Medical/Rescue Info

[crollsurf]

There is an app call Emergency+ http://emergencyapp.triplezero.gov.au/
My understanding is that you ring 000 and open the app and it will provide you with your coordinates to pass on to the operator. So your coordinates should be acceptable if there is no street address

[Wollemi]

If you or a member of your party has a severe allergic reaction. (potentially caused by insect bite/ reaction to pollen or plants, food or other cause)

[*]The first signs of an anaphylactic reaction may look like typical allergy symptoms: a runny nose or a skin rash. But within about 30 minutes, more serious signs appear.
[*]There is usually more than one of these serious signs: Coughing ; wheezing; and pain, itching, or tightness in your chest ; Fainting, dizziness, confusion, or weakness ; Hives; a rash; and itchy, swollen, or red skin ; Runny or stuffy nose and sneezing ; Shortness of breath or trouble breathing and rapid heartbeat ; Swollen or itchy lips or tongue ; Swollen or itchy throat, hoarse voice, trouble swallowing, tightness in your throat ; Vomiting, diarrhea, or cramps ; Weak pulse, paleness
[*]What to do – Ask if the affected individual has an EpiPen (Epinephrine). People with severe allergies will often carry one. Apply EpiPen as per patient’s instruction. Keep patient calm and comfortable as possible.

[/b]

Last night at the gym, I lifted weights for 60 minutes quite hard - upping the weight and reps.
As I drove home, I developed an tightness in my throat. As I sat down to dinner, I could not stop coughing. As I woke this morning, I had a badly running nose. As I sit studying, I have an itchy throat and hoarse voice.

So, I have 5 'serious signs' of a severe allergic reaction. Pass me the EpiPen... Or instructional on exhaling better through the lift.

[wildwanderer]

If you or a member of your party has a severe allergic reaction. (potentially caused by insect bite/ reaction to pollen or plants, food or other cause)

[*]The first signs of an anaphylactic reaction may look like typical allergy symptoms: a runny nose or a skin rash. But within about 30 minutes, more serious signs appear.
[*]There is usually more than one of these serious signs: Coughing ; wheezing; and pain, itching, or tightness in your chest ; Fainting, dizziness, confusion, or weakness ; Hives; a rash; and itchy, swollen, or red skin ; Runny or stuffy nose and sneezing ; Shortness of breath or trouble breathing and rapid heartbeat ; Swollen or itchy lips or tongue ; Swollen or itchy throat, hoarse voice, trouble swallowing, tightness in your throat ; Vomiting, diarrhea, or cramps ; Weak pulse, paleness
[*]What to do – Ask if the affected individual has an EpiPen (Epinephrine). People with severe allergies will often carry one. Apply EpiPen as per patient’s instruction. Keep patient calm and comfortable as possible.

[/b]

Last night at the gym, I lifted weights for 60 minutes quite hard - upping the weight and reps.
As I drove home, I developed an tightness in my throat. As I sat down to dinner, I could not stop coughing. As I woke this morning, I had a badly running nose. As I sit studying, I have an itchy throat and hoarse voice.

So, I have 5 'serious signs' of a severe allergic reaction. Pass me the EpiPen... Or instructional on exhaling better through the lift.

Perhaps I should have put in USE COMMON SENSE as well

[Lizzy]

There actually is an “exercised induced anaphylaxis”
https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/886641-overview

[wildwanderer]

There is an app call Emergency+ http://emergencyapp.triplezero.gov.au/
My understanding is that you ring 000 and open the app and it will provide you with your coordinates to pass on to the operator. So your coordinates should be acceptable if there is no street address

Thanks. Will Add

[ChrisJHC]

I’m advised that here in Vic the 000 operators for Police and Ambulance are the same.
The Firies use different operators.

So, in Vic, ask for Police or Ambulance depending on what your needs are.

I’m also advised that the operators in Vic are trained to help people with mobile phones find their lat/long and give it to them.

[Chris]

There is an app call Emergency+ http://emergencyapp.triplezero.gov.au/
My understanding is that you ring 000 and open the app and it will provide you with your coordinates to pass on to the operator. So your coordinates should be acceptable if there is no street address

Thanks. It looks very useful.
Just one query - it says it's an Australian Government initiative but the Licensed Application End User License Agreement refers to NSW.
Is it applicable to all states, or do others need to come on board individually?

[north-north-west]

Telstra can set up 000 messages as text-to-voice (or voice to text) in special circumstances, e.g. for profoundly deaf people (me!) who cannot use a mobile for dialling 000. I have had this feature for many years ... but never had to use the 000 service!

Thank you for that information. Now to get on to Telstra and see about getting it organised.

[Biggles]

Telstra can set up 000 messages as text-to-voice (or voice to text) in special circumstances, e.g. for profoundly deaf people (me!) who cannot use a mobile for dialling 000. I have had this feature for many years ... but never had to use the 000 service!

Thank you for that information. Now to get on to Telstra and see about getting it organised.

I tried to reply to your PM, but an error message on sending said you did not exist (!)

Whether Telstra can still do this I have no idea (or whether it is provisioned for my present phone, which is on a commercial lease from Telstra). It was set up by a Mario (tech) in Redfern/NSW in 1993 for me — along with, of all things, a paging and mobile fax facility! A profoundly deaf person asking to buy a mobile phone was, at that distant time, quite a novelty to Telstra, and I recall that calls, SMS and faxes were very, very expensive. Now it is very, very commonplace for even blind people to be using mobiles, or mobiles that are rarely used for making voice calls (more popular for music, games, file transfers....what else??)

[north-north-west]

Telstra can set up 000 messages as text-to-voice (or voice to text) in special circumstances, e.g. for profoundly deaf people (me!) who cannot use a mobile for dialling 000. I have had this feature for many years ... but never had to use the 000 service!

Thank you for that information. Now to get on to Telstra and see about getting it organised.

I tried to reply to your PM, but an error message on sending said you did not exist (!)

Yes, sometimes it feels like that. I'm impressed that the website can track it.

Whether Telstra can still do this I have no idea (or whether it is provisioned for my present phone, which is on a commercial lease from Telstra). It was set up by a Mario (tech) in Redfern/NSW in 1993 for me — along with, of all things, a paging and mobile fax facility! A profoundly deaf person asking to buy a mobile phone was, at that distant time, quite a novelty to Telstra, and I recall that calls, SMS and faxes were very, very expensive. Now it is very, very commonplace for even blind people to be using mobiles, or mobiles that are rarely used for making voice calls (more popular for music, games, file transfers....what else??)

I've tried looking it up online and there is definitely a requirement for Telstra to supply the service. They are the contractor for emergency contact services so it's their responsibility regardless of an indiividual's carrier.
Will probably have to annoy the *&%$#! out of the chat line to try to get it organised. It's something that should be publicised, because it's a vital service that is otherwise inaccessible for people like us.

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

[Biggles]

[...] "It's something that should be publicised, because it's a vital service that is otherwise inaccessible for people like us."

Um...no.
I think publicising such a thing is the worst thing to do.
If a person has a disability and that is known to Telstra, there is every real possibility Telstra will consider some sort of assistive/interstitial technology to help the customer. It's a one-to-one thing, not a public free-for-all, 'form an orderly queue' thing. Consider the amount of abuse/junk calls that the usual 000 line gets. The message that frazzled mums should take their sniffly son to the GP never seems to get through: they either clog the emergency department of hospitals (Melbourne is an excellent example) or persistently ring the 000 line for general advice than can be always be provided by a GP. When all else fails, they pepper FaceAche (FB) with whingefests that then degenerate into slanging matches and biffos. Do we want that sort of crap to besmirch the excellent services that Telstra provides to people in genuine ongoing need?

[north-north-west]

Let me put it like this: until you mentioned it, I was not aware that such an option existed. That existence should be publicised so that people like us, who genuinely need it, can get it activated. Needing emergency services can be a life or death situation. I don't appreciate my life being left at risk when, with a little foresight, the possibility of misuse of a vital service can be eliminated.
All that is required is for the service to be available only to those who can demonstrate a genuine need. The RACV managed to do this more than a decade back. I found out about that option because it was stressed on their website that it existed. There is no reason that the system they have been using cannot also be implemented by emergency services. That gives me the same access to the services that others have, while allowing me to retain my independence.

The service can always be maintained as applying on an as-needs basis for individuals, who nominate the mobile number through which they will be accessing it. Making sure everyone knows that option is available to be applied for is not the same as letting every mobile phone user in the country at it open slather.

[Biggles]

You can also use the NRS relay service for SMS-initiated emergency calls:
https://relayservice.gov.au/making-a-ca ... ncy-calls/
The NRS is my default go-to for comms, and it has an app for Android/Apple available too.

[north-north-west]

No, I can't. The app won't run on my ancient iPhone and I cannot afford a modern enough replacement - including cost of operation - to run it. And I am not alone in that.

[wildwanderer]

You can also use the NRS relay service for SMS-initiated emergency calls:
https://relayservice.gov.au/making-a-ca ... ncy-calls/
The NRS is my default go-to for comms, and it has an app for Android/Apple available too.

Thanks for this. I cant edit the post anymore due to the edit time limit but Ive asked a mod to include this info in the FAQ. Being able to sms emergency services (via the relay service) as a last resort is very valuable!

@NNW you dont need an app. It works using ordinary sms/text capability on even steam powered mobile phones

[north-north-west]

@NNW you dont need an app. It works using ordinary sms/text capability on even steam powered mobile phones

OK, thank you. I wasn't aware of that. Thought I'd been through all the options for this sort of thing.

That does make life a little easier. Not that plan ever to use it, but events have a way of not agreeing with plans.
Although I do notice they say this is the least reliable way of making an emergency call via the NRS.

[Warin]

Consider the amount of abuse/junk calls that the usual 000 line gets. The message that frazzled mums should take their sniffly son to the GP never seems to get through: they either clog the emergency department of hospitals (Melbourne is an excellent example) or persistently ring the 000 line for general advice than can be always be provided by a GP.

There is the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 for free advice and reassurance 24/7. Most Doctors (GPs) don't work Sunday, very few work nights, few work Sat afternoons - so a call here can be usefull. It is either that or the emergency department.

I think that was a response to those non urgent calls. I have used it ... nurses answer it. The advice you get very much depends on who you get and what you can describe to them. It did not work for me - saw a later GP, nup ... 11 hours later .. emergency department. By then things had progressed so far that they had to admit something was wrong...

Link https://about.healthdirect.gov.au/need-help-now has more numbers .

[Biggles]

You can also use the NRS relay service for SMS-initiated emergency calls:
https://relayservice.gov.au/making-a-ca ... ncy-calls/
The NRS is my default go-to for comms, and it has an app for Android/Apple available too.

Thanks for this. I cant edit the post anymore due to the edit time limit but Ive asked a mod to include this info in the FAQ. Being able to sms emergency services (via the relay service) as a last resort is very valuable!

@NNW you dont need an app. It works using ordinary sms/text capability on even steam powered mobile phones

The dedicated app for the NRS service (Apple or Android) is most definitely faster to use on a mobile than going through Firefox, Opera, Chrome or whatever else is installed. A browser is the least desirable or sensible interface in an emergency situation. The statement that the NRS is slower in an emergency would seem to me to be unfounded as a couple of friends have made use of that facility last ski season, and it definitely worked with help arriving 40 minutes later. It does assume you are conversant with the way the app operates across all of its aspects, not just one that you fancy as "possibly useful".

The other thing is that I would consider upgrading a mobile to ensure it took advantage of multiple network bands rather than just 3G. I could never imagine going back to the iPhone 3 and it's lazy, steampunk attitude to just about any connection.

[north-north-west]

The other thing is that I would consider upgrading a mobile to ensure it took advantage of multiple network bands rather than just 3G. I could never imagine going back to the iPhone 3 and it's lazy, steampunk attitude to just about any connection.

Which part of "can't afford it" do you fail to understand? My current mobile is used purely for SMS messages, sudoku and a couple of wildflower id apps. I don't do anything online with it. It's all on the best value prepaid system I can find - $30 for six months access and sufficient messages. And even that $30 can stretch the budget if it comes at the wrong time.
Sure, a newer fancier phone and the ability to go online with it would be wonderful - but that's at least $60 a month that I don't have.

I have the SMS relay number loaded into the phone now, so that will do if it is ever necessary, and I can actually get a signal. I want that access more for the possibility of medical issues or fire here at home rather than problems when I'm out walking. Needs must, the PLB will cover the walks, and AMSA know to attempt contact via SMS if that is activated.