Your personal emergency plan and ICE contacts

If something happened to you in your flat, who would notice, who would be called, and could a stranger help you? A personal emergency plan answers those questions before you need it.

Why you need a plan when you live alone

• At home, family noticed if you were ill, late or missing. Living alone, nobody notices automatically unless you set it up.
• A plan has four parts: who is your emergency contact, who has a spare key, who checks on you, and what information responders can see.
• The Managing Your Own Health module covers your medical record in detail. This lesson pulls everything into one simple plan.

ICE contacts and Medical ID

• ICE stands for 'in case of emergency'. Choose one or two people who will answer, ideally one nearby and one family member.
• On iPhone, set up Medical ID in the Health app: turn on 'Show When Locked' so responders can see it from the Lock screen without your passcode, and add emergency contacts (Apple).
• 'Share During Emergency Call' sends your Medical ID automatically when you contact emergency services, where supported (Apple).
• On Android, add medical information and emergency contacts in the Safety app, and turn on 'Show when locked' (Android Help).
• Android Help notes that anyone who picks up your phone can then see this information, so include what helps responders, not private details you would not want a stranger to read.

Emergency SOS on your phone

• On many Android phones (Android 12 or later), pressing the power button 5 or more times starts Emergency SOS, which can call emergency services, share your location and record video (Android Help).
• Android Help says SOS does not work in airplane mode or when Battery Saver is on.
• If you trigger an emergency call by accident, do not hang up: tell the operator it was an accident (Android Help).
• iPhones also have an Emergency SOS feature. Look up how it works on your model in Settings so you know before you need it.

Know your numbers and your address

• UAE: police 999, ambulance 998, Civil Defence (fire) 997 (u.ae). In Dubai, the DCAS SOS app can request an ambulance; in Abu Dhabi, the AD999 app (u.ae).
• UK: 999 or 112 in an emergency, 101 for non-emergency police, 105 for power cuts.
• Know your full address, including flat number, floor and building name, so you can give it under stress. Save it as a note on your phone.
• If you live in a Dubai villa and travel, Gulf News reports Dubai Police offers a free Home Security service for villas only (not apartments), registered through the Dubai Police app or website.

Spare keys and check-ins

• Leave a spare key with someone you trust, not under a mat or plant pot (see the Personal Safety module).
• Agree a daily or regular check-in with a friend or family member, such as a morning message. If you miss it and do not answer, they know to act.
• Give your check-in person your address, your landlord's or building management's number, and your university's emergency contact.
• Tell your plan to your flatmates or a neighbour you trust, so someone close by knows who to call.

Write it down: a one-page plan

• My ICE contacts: name, relationship, number.
• My address in full, and the nearest landmark.
• Who has my spare key.
• Medical information responders need: allergies, conditions, regular medicines.
• Key numbers: emergency services, non-emergency police, power and water, landlord, university security.
• Keep one copy on your phone, one on paper in your room, and send one to your family.