Emergency Services

The Emergency Services are there to help you when your life is in danger.

In a life threatening or emergency situation dial 999 to contact the Fire, Police, Ambulance, or Coastguard service.

Northumbria Police

Northumbria Police are the local emergency police service in Newcastle. If you are the victim of crime, including hate crime or have witnessed any non-emergency incident in the Northumbria Police area report it online. If it can’t be reported online call 101.

Ambulance service

North East Ambulance Service are the local emergency medical help service. They also provider the NHS 111 service and patient transport to get you to a clinic.

Call 999 if your life is in danger. Call NHS 111 for medical or health advice if it’s not an emergency situation. This is useful when your doctor or GP surgery is closed and you need help or a repeat prescription.

You will talk to a call handler who will triage your call. If the medical need is urgent but not life threatening, a member of the clinical team will call you to discuss your symptoms and offer advice. If your call is an emergency, they will send an ambulance or advise you to go to an Urgent Treatment Centre or Accident and Emergency.

Read more about NHS 111.

Fire Service

Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service is the local Fire Service. They also offer Home Safety Checks to anyone living in the Tyne & Wear area. They can arrange to visit your home to check for fire risks and help with smoke alarms. They will give you fire safety information and advice. The Fire Service also offer Safe & Well visits for people over the age of 65.

Read more about fire safety.

Coastguard

HM Coastguard can help in an emergency situation when someone is in danger at sea, the beach or around the coast. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They help to:

find missing people and boats (maritime search and rescue (SAR))
rescue people such as climbers stuck on cliffs, or in mud
rescue vessels, boats and people in trouble at sea

How to give your information in an emergency if you are unable to communicate

Bottle in the fridge scheme helps store your personal and medical information in your fridge door, so it can found quickly by emergency services, if you have an accident or sudden illness at home. This simple and free idea could help to save your life. It is also useful to people who may not be able to give their health information to the emergency services. For example, people who speak English as a second language, people with dementia, learning disability or autistic people.

Carers Emergency Contact Scheme is for adults, caring for adults. It’s a free service, so the person you care for can be looked after if you have a personal crisis such as, an illness, accident or emergency. Your plan is kept safe and available in an emergency.

Relay UK is the emergency text message service for deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people in the UK to call for help from the police, ambulance, fire rescue, or coastguard. The emergency services can reply to you. You need to download the app and register your mobile phone number to use this service.

The Silent Police Solution If you’re in an emergency situation and need police help, but can’t speak, Make Yourself Heard to let the 999 operator know your call is genuine. All 999 calls are directed to call centres where you are asked which service you need. If no service is requested but something suspicious is heard during your call, BT operators will connect you to a police call handler if you can communicate with them using the steps described below:

Listen to the call handlers questions
Cough or tap the handset if possible
Press 55 if prompted, to let them know your call is genuine. You can then be put through to the police
If calling from a landline the silent solution can’t be used. They will try to ask you questions and get a response from you. If they can’t decide if your call is genuine, the call may be ended. However the call may stay connected for 45 seconds. Pick up the handset again to let the police know your call is genuine. If the call handler is worried about your safety you’ll be connected to your local police. Calling from a landline gives the call handler more information about your location.

British Sign Language (BSL)

SignLive provides online video British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting services for Deaf and hard of hearing people. They provide interpreting services for NHS 111.

999 BSL is the Emergency Video Relay Service for people who speak British Sign Language (BSL). Downalod their app or use their website to make BSL video calls to the Emergency Services: Police, Ambulance, Fire and Coastguard services.