Urgent medical assistance

[Wynne]

Just this weekend I was in the midlands UK and needed urgent medical assistance for my partner. I used the help found in TomTom XL and selected the nearest doctor only to find no assistance available as it was late at night and was directed by automation to contact 999. Knowing help would not be there for some time I again used help to find the nearest hospital. It was fantastic and did this only to find when I arrived that it did not have Accident & Emergency facilities or a doctor on site or no one that could help. In the end I found a hospital with Accident & Emergency facilities, All was ok in the end.

I have made a suggestion to TomTom could look into?
1/ Any 24hr Doctor phone lines to be placed beginning of the list noting is a 24hr assistance.

2/ Any A & E 24hr Hospitals to be on a separate list or marked as A&E 24hr

This will help confusion when time, panic, frustration and medical help is needed with speed.

I can only hope TomTom will think about this as this could have directed me incorrectly in a life threatening condition. All I got from TomTom is that it was passed on to there team.

What do you think?

 

[Thom]

Now this may sound stupid but... Is there no such thing as "911" emergency service in the UK or wasn't it an issue that required that type of attention?

 

[Wynne]

Yes there is but as my partner was having difficulty in breathing a more direct approach was needed to find medical assistance. As I have some medical knowledge I could see that a hospital with medical facilities was needed. As the response time is long for medical teams the only action I could take was to go direct to a hospital and had no time to contact them by phone due to I was driving and my partner could not communicate.
My response was commended by the hospital and reduced the condition from getting critical.
I understand your comment but this was strange due to location and time needed to contain the situation.

Thank you

 

[cputrdoc]

Wynne's particular situation aside, you can also dial 112 from any GSM mobile phone, anywhere in the world, even if the phone keypad is locked (enter that as the password and the phone will dial it).

Wynne, make sure that you communicate your suggestion through TomTom support. TomTomForums.com is neither affiliated nor monitored by TomTom Inc. so though I agree it would be great to bone up TomTom's emergency services, the support group needs to hear that before it will be considered and entered as a suggestion.

 

[Tim25]

I have wondered about this topic before....From my home in Northern Virginia...if I use the "drive to help" function for the nearest hospital I get a rather strange list...most of which seem to be mental health providers (must be a big industry in NoVA)...I know where the local hospital is around my house, but if I was in unfamiliar territory and needed this, I'd be real careful in just picking something nearby off the list. It would be MUCH better if the list of nearby hospitals was just that....and not everything possibly medically related in the area

 

[Smokiewolf]

Just this weekend I was in the midlands UK and needed urgent medical assistance for my partner. I used the help found in TomTom XL and selected the nearest doctor only to find no assistance available as it was late at night and was directed by automation to contact 999. Knowing help would not be there for some time I again used help to find the nearest hospital. It was fantastic and did this only to find when I arrived that it did not have Accident & Emergency facilities or a doctor on site or no one that could help. In the end I found a hospital with Accident & Emergency facilities, All was ok in the end.

I have made a suggestion to TomTom could look into?
1/ Any 24hr Doctor phone lines to be placed beginning of the list noting is a 24hr assistance.

2/ Any A & E 24hr Hospitals to be on a separate list or marked as A&E 24hr

This will help confusion when time, panic, frustration and medical help is needed with speed.

I can only hope TomTom will think about this as this could have directed me incorrectly in a life threatening condition. All I got from TomTom is that it was passed on to there team.

What do you think?

9-1-1 can have a paramedic to you in 5 minutes or less in my area. That's always a better solution than trying to find a place yourself. If your partner when into respiratory arrest before you arrived, you'd be in worse shape than if you had EMS on the way.

 

[Arno]

Yes there is but as my partner was having difficulty in breathing a more direct approach was needed to find medical assistance. As I have some medical knowledge I could see that a hospital with medical facilities was needed.

I commend you for contacting TT with your suggestions.

In your original post you wanted to contact a doctor. Here you say a medical facility was needed.

Hind sight 20/20 is easy and we all react differently in emergency situations than we think we will.
When you realised that the facility was needed would it not have been better to have called 999
(or 112 on a GSM phone, even in the UK, as was noted) to ask for the nearest facility.
I am sure you expected them to tell you to stay put as they would meet you.
I think I would have insisted that I would proceed towards the facility and that they could intercept me on the route.
Just a thought.

 

[Larry L]

...only to find no assistance available as it was late at night and ...
... only to find when I arrived that it did not have Accident & Emergency facilities or a doctor on site or no one that could help.

What do you think?

Great idea, but I can see the TT legal department removing this feature for the reasons quoted above. If a case like this does not turned out ok, I can see TT being sued for sending the user to the wrong location. It could be argued that the user had a reasonable expectation that the location provided would be full service since no service limitations were displayed by the unit. bla bla bla...

Sad but true, the more help offered, the more liability risked.