How does the MedicAlert Emergency Line work?

Dr George Sikharulidze

We’re frequently asked how exactly the emergency line works….. Dr George Sikharulidze, MedicAlert’s Head of Services explains.

‘Over the last few years, we have been involved in a major project to upgrade our Membership database. As a result of this work, we now have a highly intelligent database system that allows instant updates to member’s medical records. This helps us to improve services within the MedicAlert office, but more importantly this gives front line emergency personnel accurate information about a Member within seconds.’

The MedicAlert emergency line is managed by the London Ambulance Service at their headquarters in London and calls are accepted 24/7 from around the world. Once an emergency call is received, within seconds, up-to-date medical information can be passed to the emergency personnel dealing with a patient.’

Once a first-responder has spotted a MedicAlert Emblem, they can call the emergency number and quote the patients MedicAlert ID Number. The phoneline operators verify that they are talking to someone bona fide, and then they can relay vital information to the emergency services which quite simply saves lives .

Dr George says:-

‘The database enables medical personnel to have accurate and appropriate information available about a Member. Each week we hear of real life examples of how the MedicAlert service has provided vital information to emergency personnel treating Members. Our new database ensures that once a Members details have been updated on their file, the information is immediately live and available in an emergency.’

Each month, the MedicAlert emergency line receives calls from Paramedics, A&E staff, Police officers and other first-responders. We recently had a call from an off-duty Doctor who was attending to someone at a cinema complex.

MedicAlert’s database currently holds more than 300,000 individual records and this grows each day. The detail held includes member’s personal details such as name and address or next of kin and emergency contacts. The system also records extensive medical information on behalf of Members. This can include any medication taken, allergies or implants. The database can also store clinical attachments and medical scans as well as advance decision wishes and care plans which can be viewed by emergency and health care professionals.

To find out more about the MedicAlert service take a look at www.MedicAlert.org.uk or call us on freephone 0800 581 420.

A note from Ken Morgan, Interim Chief Executive

As Ken enters his last few weeks as Interim Chief Executive for MedicAlert, he reflects on his involvement with the charity over past number of years.

I became involved with MedicAlert UK after serving as Council Chairman of Lions Clubs International in 2001.  I served as MedicAlert Lions Liaison Officer for several years and attended Board Meetings before becoming a MedicAlert Trustee in 2004.

MedicAlert really has changed dramatically compared to when I first became involved. At that time almost all the Trustees were Members of Lions Clubs International, whereas now there are Trustees from various backgrounds each contributing their specialist knowledge/expertise.

MedicAlert itself has become more professional as it’s grown, with all employees very aware of how important a MedicAlert emblem is to our Members. We really do provide a lifesaving service to lots of individuals who have serious hidden medical conditions and staff are very passionate about the service.

A completely new membership database is now used providing a “state of the art” system for ensuring the information held on behalf of our members is both accurate and secure. Keeping up to date with the times and technology is an ongoing challenge for the charity-as you can imagine there’s had to be regular changes since it started in the 1960’s!

The range of MedicAlert jewellery emblems has also changed a lot over the years. The emblems now being produced are stylish as well as practical with new items constantly being added to provide as much choice as possible! Having our own team of in-house jewellers ensures every effort is made to provide the best possible value to our Members.

As Interim Chief Executive I have seen first hand the commitment and dedication MedicAlert staff demonstrate on a day to day basis and I never cease to be impressed with the care taken to provide what is the very best possible lifesaving service for those who need it most.

My term as Interim Chief Executive is almost over but I know MedicAlert UK will be serving it’s members well for many years to come.

The Allergy and Gluten Free Show

Chris Lunn, Head of Communications chatting with a member

Hey there

What a glorious weekend it was here in London…..and yet even with the incredible sunshine there still was an impressive attendance at the Allergy and Gluten Free show!

The MedicAlert team exhibit at the show every year and this was one of the best so far. What really makes it so worthwhile for us going to an event like this is the opportunity it offers us to actually meet our members and hear how our service affects their lives.

Over 20% of our MedicAlert members are affected by severe allergies so it really is a worthwhile event for us to catch up with member queries and show them what we have going on. Over the 3 days different members of our communications, membership services and medical teams took turns manning the stand and dealing with queries.

We got some great feedback on our new charm range and even more ideas about what members want to see from us in the future! We really do love getting members feedback on the emblems and the service so if you ever have a suggestion, please be sure to get in touch by emailing communications@medicalert.org.uk

The Allergy show also gives us the chance to have face-to-face discussions with some potential members and as ever we were surprised by just how broad the range of their queries can be!

We had a lot of people this year raising the issue of electronic healthcare records with us after recent concerns about the security of the NHS Summary care records. We were very happy to provide the MedicAlert response to the summary care record and explain how MedicAlert is still the tried and tested way of ensuring that an individual’s medical conditions are made known in an emergency.  We are always happy to take on members without a serious medical condition that simply want to know their information is being held securely in case of an emergency-in fact, we have number of members using it in this way already.

Overall it was a great weekend and a very successful experience for our team. We’ll be back next year!

Take care,

Roisin

Marketing & Communications Manager

Hello!

Hi there,

Our first post….hopefully of many to come!

We have a lot of information on our website about our service and emblem range so the idea behind this blog is to introduce you to the people and the passion behind our lifesaving service.

Hopefully this blog will give you a closer look inside MedicAlert UK, introduce some of our hardworking staff, give you a better idea of the different roles here in head office and generally show you why we are all so passionate about the MedicAlert Service!

We’ll keep you up-to-date on what events we’ve been to, any new activity we have coming up and we might even ask some of our members to contribute guest posts along the way too!

You’ll be hearing from us soon!

Best wishes,

The Communications Team