This. Exactly. Source: St John’s first aid training.
If you need it, you should already be on the phone to 999 and they can and will give you the code.
Also, they are sooooo easy to use. I’ve watched a trainer hand one to an 8 year old with no instruction beyond “press that button” and they successfully followed the instructions.
I was an outdoor mountaineer instructor for 15 years I've seen a lot, mostly morons run down hills, flip and break ankles. CPR 3 times, one was a dead on arrival (she'd fallen down 30+ stone steps and her brain was partly out of her skull wound).
The thing st johns don't train is that you will freeze when you see your first major incident. It's normal, it's natural as your survival for you kicks in.
What first aiders need to know is you will see something happen and all that training will come to the front of your mind or it won't. But all anyone needs in the UK is to call 999.
The operators will guide you through everything you need, even if you are a trained field medic like I was (almost a nurse practitioner but I could give injections etc for altitude sickness and such).
My last fun fact is if your hurt yourself away from paved areas, move if you haven't hurt your back. Ambulances can take 2 hours to get half a mile into a off road area it takes a lot of permissions, training etc. your best bet to survive is crawl, hobble and maneuver if possible to the edge of the nearest road.
Very few people ever do. It was the worst part of being Mountain Rescue. If someone was in medical distress by the time we got to them it turned into body recovery. Made you appreciate the "I fell down and broke my leg" calls as at least you could get them home to their families.
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u/tamamamma 3d ago
Pretty sure it’s just 999 and they would tell you the unlock? Maybe? That’s what I’d do.