Smarter Ways To Use Your Smart Phone

Tools to keep you safe and connected

It’s hard to avoid the fact that our phones are with us more than ever these days. Whether it’s to QR check-in for COVID tracing or taking photos on family outings, our phones are almost an extension of our being.

Whilst they are a valued tool in many ways, did you know they can be of even more use to us in case of emergency? Here are a couple of tips to get the most out of your technology and help you stay safe while out and about.

EMERGENCY+ APP

Emergency+ is a free App developed by Australia’s emergency services and industry partners.

The App works across Australia, using the GPS functionality built into smartphones to help a Triple Zero (000) caller provide critical location details required to mobilise emergency services. The quicker an accurate location is established, the sooner emergency services can be dispatched and render assistance.

Download the App to your phone by searching “Emergency App” in your App store (for iPhone users) or in Google Play (for Android or Samsung phone users).

Record your emergency contacts and medical information in your smartphone

It recommended you enter your emergency data into your phone so that your data is quickly available in a time of need. Once entered, your emergency contacts and information such as medical conditions, allergies, medications, blood type, etc, will be able to be accessed by emergency services without having to unlock your phone.

Each device may be slightly different, but below are some tips on how to update your phone:

Samsung

Create an emergency contacts list

1. Go into your contacts
2. Find ‘Groups’
3. Find ‘Emergency Contacts’
4. Add whoever you want to be an emergency contact from your list of contacts – ie partner, child or close neighbour. (Remember your spouse may be with you a majority of the time, so it’s always a good idea to have a second emergency contact who doesn’t live with you, just in case.)
5. Once you’ve added the emergency contacts you can also click on ‘Emergency Medical Information’ to enter important medical information.

Other Android

Open your phone’s Settings App.

1. Tap ‘About phone’, then ‘Emergency information’.
2. Enter the information that you want to share.
   • For medical information, tap ‘Edit information’. If you don’t see this, tap ‘Info’.
   • For emergency contacts, tap ‘Add contact’. If you don’t see this, tap ‘Contacts’.

iPhone

Add emergency contacts

1. Open your phone’s “Health” App and tap your profile picture
2. Tap Medical ID.
3. Tap Edit, then scroll to Emergency Contacts.
4. Tap the ‘add’ button to add an emergency contact.
5. Select a contact, then add their relationship.
6. Tap ‘done’ to save your changes.

Set up your Medical ID

1. Open the “Health” App and tap the Summary tab.
2. Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
3. Under your profile picture, tap Medical ID.
4. Tap Edit in the upper-right corner.
5. To make your Medical ID available from the Lock Screen on your iPhone, turn on Show When Locked. In an emergency, this will give information to people who want to help.
6. Enter health information, such as your date of birth, allergies and blood type.
7. Tap Done.