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FlagMii® EML
supporting Italian emergency
number for deaf people
The FlagMii® EML mobile technology allows to establish an effective communication channel in all situations where the common emergency call is impossible, as the case of Italian number for the deaf people shows.
The Italian emergency number for deaf people
In Italy, the emergency service has set up a reference number for deaf citizens, namely 800 800 112. The number immediately activates the Control Room dedicated to callers who are unable to speak, who are recognized thanks to a national list of deaf people. The people registered on the list are recognized even if the emergency call is directed to the general emergency number 112 instead of the dedicated number.
FlagMii® EML is the technology that has been selected to fine-tune the service, due to the simplicity of use and the quick response in emergency situations.
Using FlagMii® EML in case of deaf callers
When dealing with an emergency call coming from a deaf caller, FlagMii® EML supports the call-taker and the dispatcher in many ways.
The key role of FlagMii® EML is to activate a chat that allows the deaf person to send and receive text messages from the rescuer, directly on their smartphone.
The chat is activated via a simple SMS, in a few moments and without installing any smartphone app. The platform can therefore work on all Android ™ and iPhone® devices and does not introduce downtime due to the set-up of the phone.
To speed up the dialogue, the operator can send predefined closed-ended questions; answers can, in turn, activate new predefined questions and the sequence can be repeated where necessary.
The questions are fully configurable.
As soon as the call is answered, the software tries to automatically geo-locate the person on the phone. The operation does not interrupt the call-taker's work and continues until the maximum precision of the coordinates is achieved.
The identification of the target location for the mission is a critical aspect of each emergency call and can be even more complex if the person on the phone cannot speak. FlagMii® EML does not just carry out the common operations of determining the city and the address where the call comes from, but interacts with the caller's device to retrieve, as precisely as possible, any information useful for establishing an exact and univocal geographical point.
The position is therefore constantly updated, in this way the rescuers can be sent precisely even if the person moves (for example if he is walking or if he is in a moving vehicle).
Through the chat, the operator can send some files to the deaf person, for example images of emergency procedures to be implemented while they are waiting to be rescued. If it is not possible to talk to the person on the phone, it can be particularly difficult to explain sanitary manoeuvres or other actions that the caller must carry out independently; the use of images and attached documents can simplify this aspect and thus speed up response times.
Additional features when using FlagMii® EML with deaf callers
The software allows you to start video conferences, without the need for dedicated tools on the caller's smartphone. In the case of a deaf interlocutor, videoconferencing can be useful in two ways.
Video stream from the incident scene
Through videoconferencing, the operator has the possibility to observe the incident scene, through the camera of the caller's smartphone. This allows to better evaluate the overall seriousness of the incident, for example in the event of a car crash, or to obtain images of injuries or traumas that could otherwise be difficult to describe.
Group conference and translations
The call-taker can invite other participants to join the videoconference. For example, a specialist can provide a medical consultation, or a translator can talk to the caller in the sign language.
The Italian excellence supporting the EMS number
FlagMii® EML is the official platform used by the Italian emergency number (NUE 112) and is used to manage all calls coming from deaf citizens in Italy. The project is implemented under the patronage of the Italian body for deaf people (Ente Nazionale Sordi) and is available to all Italian users calling the emergency number 800 800 112.
The platform is integrated with the Italian web portal for deaf people emergencies (“112 Sordi”), which maintains the list of all registered deaf users and their contact details in order to speed up the very first stages of the emergency call.
FlagMii® EML was chosen because it can concretely improve the times and accuracy of emergency dispatching in case of deaf callers, but also because it represents Italian technological excellence in the field of emergency Control Rooms.
