Facts in fridge are life-savers

IT SEEMS devastatingly simple - but the best ideas often are. When emergency services are called out to find an elderly or vulnerable person collapsed and unconscious at home, they need to act quickly. In those first few minutes, knowing whether the person suffers from some condition such as epilepsy or diabetes that could have caused them to collapse could make the difference between life and death.

It is the same if firefighters rescue an unconscious person from a blazing building. If that person suffers from a condition that makes it vital they take regular medication, firefighters and paramedics need to know before he or she is rushed to hospital, so their medicine can be taken with them.

The problem emergency services face is that if the victim is unconscious or confused, there is no way of knowing. They can't even phone next of kin because they don't know who to contact.

Searching for vital clues to a person's identity, or to any medical condition they suffer from, can waste precious time which could cost lives.

Now the Minster Lions - in an initiative backed by the health and emergency services - are inviting elderly and vulnerable people across York and the surrounding area to fill in special forms detailing their medical history and information about who to contact in an emergency, and then tuck them into specially-designed bottles they can store in the fridge, where the information will be safe even in a fire.

Everyone taking part in the Lions Life Line - Message In A Bottle scheme will be given stickers to go inside their front door and on the fridge door - so firefighters, police or paramedics who attend are alerted and know instantly where to go to get the vital information they need.

"If we are called to an incident and find someone unconscious, we don't necessarily know what's wrong," says Graham Buckle, York group fire safety manager for the North Yorkshire fire service. "The advantage with this scheme is that because of the sticker on the door, we know there is a bottle in the fridge where we can quickly get information about whether they are epileptic or diabetic, for example, and who to contact.

"We know exactly where that information is and, because it is in the fridge, it should survive, even if we are dealing with a fire."

The information in the bottles could also prove vital in helping hospital staff treating a patient identify who they are, and whether they need particular medication, says Maureen Taylor of the Selby and York Primary Care Trust, which is also backing the scheme.

"When people are admitted to hospital quickly, it is not always clear who they are," she says. "The message in a bottle scheme has the potential to be a lifeline."

George Bennett, the Minster Lions' project co-ordinator, gives a tragic example of one case where the scheme could have helped save a life.

"One of our members runs a small shop," he says. "And one of his regular customers suddenly did not come in any more. She had fallen downstairs, broken a leg and knocked herself unconscious, and had been taken into hospital. She died because she was allergic to penicillin and the emergency services were not aware of the fact."

Although similar schemes run elsewhere in the country, the Lions consulted closely with local emergency and health services to thrash out the details of how the 'message in a bottle' scheme would work. Ten thousand bottles are to be distributed initially, targeted mainly at the elderly or people with particular health conditions which make them vulnerable.

After receiving feedback from the emergency services, it was decided the stickers which alert the police, fire or paramedics to the fact somebody is a member of the scheme should be stuck inside the front door, rather than outside - so as not to advertise to passers-by that someone potentially vulnerable lived there.

And it was decided to recommend the bottles be kept in the door compartment of the fridge - so that if firefighters have rescued someone from a blazing house, they don't have to go rummaging through the contents of the fridge in a smoke or fire-filled kitchen. They can go straight to the bottle.

Much thought also went into designing the forms. Those taking part in the scheme are asked to fill in their name and address, details of two people who should be contacted in any emergency, and any illnesses they suffer from that require them to take regular medication.

There are separate sections to record allergies and whether, in particular, they are allergic to any medicines. They will also be asked to fill in their doctor's details.

The form doesn't stop there, however. If you look after someone, and will need them to be cared for if you are suddenly taken ill or have an accident, you can record their details as well. "Arrangements could then be made, for example, to pick children up from school," says George.

After consultation with the ambulance service it was decided not to ask people to list what medicines they took, because that information could quickly become out of date, and lead to a patient being given, by mistake, something they should no longer be taking. Instead, there is a section where you can record precisely where any regular medication you do take is kept, so emergency services can collect it and arrange for it to be taken to hospital with you.

You will also be asked to attach a recent photo to the form, so that if there are two people of the same sex living in the house emergency services can be sure they have got the right person's medical history.

Last but not least, there is a section to record details of any pets - so if you live alone and are taken suddenly ill, arrangements can be made to look after them.

The message in a bottle scheme is to be officially launched next Tuesday at St Peter's School where pupils helped the Minster Lions stuff forms into 10,000 bottles.

Voluntary organisations which support elderly or disabled people or those who suffer from long-term illnesses are being invited along to find out more - and will be asked to help distribute the message bottles to people they think may benefit.

Posters, produced with the support of York Community Watch, will also be displayed in GP surgeries, post offices and other places promoting the scheme.

Not only will the project help save lives, says Graham Buckle, it will also make people feel more secure. "They will feel safer knowing that if they do need help, people are going to have the information they need to give that help," he says. "This is an excellent community scheme"

To find out more or request a message in a bottle for your own or a relative's fridge, call Pat Brooks of the Minster Lions on 01904 798496.

Updated: 10:24 Thursday, October 23, 2003