Medical emergencies when you should text 111 are when:

• Someone has difficulty breathing.
• Someone has chest pain. This can feel like a ‘weight’ or a ‘squeezing feeling’ in your chest.
• Someone fainting or being unconscious.
• Someone may have had a stroke. They may have suddenly gone weak, their vision has changed, they are dizzy or have difficulty talking.
• Someone has severe pain anywhere.
• Someone has bleeding that won’t stop.
• There’s been a car crash and people are injured.

Examples of medical non-emergencies are:

• Generally being unwell - unless you have some of the symptoms listed above.
• Minor injuries like sprains or small cuts – provided they’re not bleeding uncontrollably.
• Minor burns – burns that are smaller than twice the size of your hand.
• Coughs or colds.
• If you need to report something that's not a medical emergency, you should see your doctor.

Anything that could cause loss of life, serious injury or loss of property is a Fire Service emergency. Situations where you should text 111 immediately include:

• A fire in your house. Get out - stay out.
• You notice a burning smell in your house but you're not sure where it's coming from.
• You see or smell what looks like a house fire in a neighbouring property.
• You see a car crash, car fire or people trapped.
• You notice a gas leak from a broken pipe. Move away from the leak to where there is no smell.
• You or your property are in serious danger from storm damage.

Questions

If you need police, they might ask questions.

For example, what a burglar was wearing, what sort of car they had, where they went.

Hearing people get asked too.

It won't delay Police arriving. They'll be on their way while another Police person asks you questions.

Instructions

Do what Police tell you to do.

They might say "stay where you are".

That's to keep you safe.

Or maybe they want to find out more about what you saw.

When to stop TXTing

Police will tell you when to stop TXTing.

TXT again if anything changes or gets worse.

Or if the fire engine, ambulance or police car hasn't arrived when you expected it.

Emergencies are stressful. Knowing when to contact 111 and why you will be asked a lot of questions will help you feel more confident if you ever have to deal with one.

What is an emergency?

It’s when something serious has happened and you need Police, Fire or Ambulance right now.

When hearing people call 111, they’re asked if they want Fire, Ambulance or Police?

Now it’s the same for deaf and hearing impaired people who have registered (put their name down) for TXT 111.

It’s important you TXT 111 only in an emergency.

If you use it for something that’s not urgent, other people who need help urgently could miss out.