Boy, 3, calls 999 after mum collapses at home
Oscar alerted the emergency services when his mum Iona fainted at their home in Surrey.
A "talkative" three-year-old boy called 999 for help when his mum collapsed at home.
Oscar alerted the emergency services after his mum, Iona, fainted at their house in Banstead, Surrey.
The toddler was eventually able to tell PC Emma Robinson she was “sleeping” and added she was “blowing bubbles” which led to an ambulance being dispatched to their home.
Iona was taken to hospital and has since made a full recovery.
She said: “I am very lucky that Oscar knew to ring 999 and get me help and I think it just shows how important it is that we tell our children to do this when something feels wrong or dangerous.
"Without that, who knows what would have happened!”
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When PC Emma Robinson answered the aborted 999 call in July, she said it “seemed a bit off”.
Emma, who is currently on secondment in the Surrey Police Contact Centre after first joining Surrey Police 15 years ago, rang the number back and Oscar answered the phone.
The phone call can be heard here.
The phone call
PC Robinson added: "Oscar was very talkative, cheeky and seemed in good spirits, but I just had a feeling that something was off.
“He hung up the phone a few times, so I decided to call back and ask him more questions to see if we could work out what was going on.
“After a while Oscar managed to tell me that his mother was 'sleeping' and that she wouldn't wake up.
“He also disclosed that she was 'blowing bubbles' and I then knew that we needed to get an ambulance there as quickly as possible.
"Being only three years old, Oscar was not able to tell me his address, but between us we managed to work out where they were and where we needed to send emergency services.
“The ambulance service also managed to call Oscar and speak to him regarding his mother.”
Oscar and his family were invited to Surrey Police’s Guildford Headquarters to meet Emma.
He was also presented with a bravery certificate and police teddy bear by chief constable Tim De Meyer and head of contact chief superintendent Juliet Parker as recognition of his heroics.
Ioana said: “Oscar loves everything to do with the police and cars so to come in and have a look around was a great experience for him.
"He is very excited to take his certificate and teddy into his nursery’s ‘show and tell’ this week.”
Parents should teach children how to dial 999
West Mercia Police recommends you teach children how to dial 999 in an emergency and advises to practice the following with them.
The importance of only dialling 999 in a genuine emergency:
Run through different scenarios, explaining exactly what an emergency situation looks like. Help them to understand the role of the emergency services and of the call handler.
In an emergency tell the call handler that you need help straight away:
Teach your children to be very definite in saying "I need help" or "Mummy/Daddy needs help" as soon as they are connected, that way we can be sure that the call is genuine.
The best way to call the emergency services is on a landline:
Using a landline will help us to trace your location far quicker, meaning we can get help to you without the delay of trying to establish an address.
If you do not have a landline at home practice your address:
Even just a house number and postcode will help us to send help to the right location. If your child is able to read then write your address down and pin it up somewhere in your house.
Practice speaking slowly and loudly:
Sometimes even as adults we struggle with this, especially in difficult situations, but the clearer the dialogue the easier it will be for us to understand what is happening.
If you dial 999 by mistake, tell the person on the other end of the phone:
They won't be in any trouble but admitting the mistake saves the emergency services time trying to establish if a call is genuine.
