GB2530065A

GB2530065A - A System for Processing Emergency Services Calls

Info

Publication number: GB2530065A
Application number: GB1416084.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Keating
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-09-11
Filing date: 2014-09-11
Publication date: 2016-03-16
Also published as: GB201416084D0

Abstract

The computer program product comprises program instructions that when operated on a mobile communications device (MCD) 9, causes the MCD to monitor whether an emergency services call centre 3 number is being called from the MCD. On detecting that an emergency services call centre number is being called from the MCD, the computer program product causes the MCD to retrieve an MCD contact address (e.g. phone number, IMEI, MAC address, IP address) from memory, retrieve the most recent location data of the MCD, and transmit the MCD contact address and the most recent location data to the emergency services call centre. The data may be transmitted over a second communication link 15 (which may be an internet communication channel or a Short Messaging Service (SMS) channel. The emergency services call centre computer 7 has a computer program product for use in monitoring emergency calls that can collate (or pair) the second communication link 15 and more specifically the location data contained therein with the emergency services voice call (over link 13) from the MCD. This allows effective, seamless tracking of MCD users making emergency calls.

Description

"A system for processing emergency services calls"

Introduction

This invention relates to a system for processing emergency services calls. The invention further relates to a computer program product having program instructions for execution on a mobile communication device and a second computer program product having program instructions for execution on a computer in an emergency services call centre.

The number of calls from mobile communication devices (MCD5) such as smartphones, phablets and mobile telephones to the emergency services has risen over the last number of years to the point where in many jurisdictions, the majority of calls made to the emergency services now originate from an MCD rather than a fixed line telephone.

For example, in the United Kingdom, approximately 67% of all calls to the emergency services now originate from MCDs. In many instances, this has reduced the time taken to report an incident to the emergency services as the MCD is often readily available whereas a fixed line phone may not be so readily available. There are however numerous problems experienced when processing calls from MCD5 that can seriously hinder the emergency services in the performance of their duties.

First of all, surveys in the UK have shown that on average the duration of the call to the emergency services is longer for calls originating from mobile telephones than from landlines. The calls from the mobile telephones have been found to be of the order of 30 seconds longer than calls from landlines. It is not uncommon for calls from MCD5 to last up to three minutes longer when dealing with stressed or injured victims. The reason for the longer calls is due primarily to the fact that the caller from a mobile communication device must provide location information to the emergency services call centre representative whereas the information is already readily available through standard Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or telephone directory systems if the caller is calling from a fixed line telephone.

Secondly, it is well documented in the UK that there is a significant delay (i.e. in excess of 30 minutes) in responding to a large number of emergency service calls each year.

This is due to the fad that the caller using an MCD to call the emergency seivices was unable to provide accurate location information to the emergency services call centre personnel. The emergency services field personnel have to spend this valuable time searching for the individual that called for assistance. This delay can mean the difference between life and death.

Various solutions have been proposed to the known problems. Currently, it is known for the emergency services personnel to obtain assistance from the mobile telephony operators to determine the closest cell tower to the person making the call at the time they made that call. This however is time consuming, is not always an option if the mobile telephony company do not have the available resources at that time, and in any event often only provides a very general area that may be more than a square kilometre in size which is not particularly useful.

Other solutions provide applications (hereinafter referred to as an app", or in the plural, "apps") that may be loaded onto a smartphone or other MCD that can send the location of the MCD to the control centre computer. If the owner of the smartphone requires the emergency services, they have to positively launch the app on their smartphone and make the call to the emergency services through the app environment. Although these solutions address some of the known problems, there are still difficulties with the known apps.

First of all, it is seen as highly disadvantageous to require a user to have to positively launch an app on their smartphone when they need to contact the emergency services.

From an early age, people are educated to tall 999" in the case of an emergency.

Throughout this specification, reference will be made to "999" as an emergency services number however it will be understood that this is not limiting and other numbers such as 911 or 112 or the like may be used as the emergency number and this tends to vary from one jurisdiction to the next. When experiencing the emergency, the caller may be injured, may be in a state of shock or even in a state of panic and they will naturally tend to revert to their instincts which more often than not will be to simply call the emergency services number "999" rather than to launch an app and go through the steps required to contact the emergency services through the app. Furthermore, if the user is in a state of shock or unfamiliar with a pre-loaded app on a new phone, they may be unable to find the app on the phone in order to use it. In these ways, the app is likely to be bypassed and therefore obsolete.

Secondly, for those instances that a person does override their natural instincts and launches the app, the process will inherently take longer than the normal method of simply dialling "999" and initiating the call to the emergency services. Furthermore, the process will require more of the caller's attention and it is unlikely that they will be able to multitask and carry out other actions when they are attempting to use the app. Valuable seconds will be lost trying to contact the emergency services that might be better used assisting injured parties or assembling rescue equipment. Thirdly, and importantly, for security and other reasons, most phones nowadays are keypad protected and require a numerical code or a pattern code entry in order to permit access to the apps on the phone. If the owner of the phone is incapacitated and a third party is attempting to use the telephone to contact the emergency services, they will be unable to use the app to contact the emergency services unless they know the numerical code or pattern code to gain access to the phone and the app.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer program product and a system for processing emergency services calls that overcomes at least some of the above-identified problems. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a useful alternative to the consumer.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided a computer program product having program instructions that when operated on a mobile communications device (MCD), causes the MCD to carry out the steps of: monitoring the MCD to determine whether an emergency services call centre number is being called from the MCD; and on detecting that an emergency services call centre number is being called from the MCD, the computer program product causing the MCD to: retrieve an MCD contact address from MCD memory; retrieve the most recent location data of the MCD from MCD memory; and transmit the MCD contact address and the most recent location data to the emergency services call centre.

By having such a computer program product, the location of the MCD making the call to the emergency services will be automatically transmitted to the emergency services call centre upon initiation of an emergency call from the MCD. This is seen as highly advantageous as the person using the MCD will not have to positively launch an app in order to provide their location details to the emergency services call centre. Instead, by following their natural instincts their location will be sent to the emergency services call centre. Secondly, their location will be transmitted to the emergency services call centre with the minimum delay and the user will not have to pay undue attention to the MCD in order to ensure that the location is transmitted successfully. Thirdly, most telephones will allow any user to make a call to the emergency services with the MCD without requiring a numerical code or a pattern code to be entered into the telephone. Therefore, the computer program product according to the invention can be used to good effect by anyone picking up the telephone and will be utilised each time the emergency services number is called resulting in a more effective product.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program product has program instructions to cause the MCD to carry out the intermediate step of the MCD establishing a secondary communication channel to the emergency services call centre and the step of the MCD transmitting the MCD contact address and the most recent location data to the emergency services call centre comprises the MCD transmitting the MCD contact address and the most recent location data to the emergency services call centre over the secondary communication channel. By opening a secondary communication channel, the MCD location data can be sent independently of any voice communication channel opened between the MCD and the emergency services call centre. This will free up the bandwidth for the voice communications and furthermore will allow the location data of the MCD to be sent long after the voice communication channel has been terminated between the MCD and the emergency services call centre.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the secondary communications channel comprises an intemet communication channel. This is seen as a particularly effective way of transmitting the location data to the emergency services call centre, will allow regular updates to be sent with ease and will be effective in some cases irrespective of the cellular coverage in a particular area.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the secondary communications channel comprises a Short Messaging Service (SMS) channel.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program transmits the MCD contact address and the most recent location data to the emergency services call centre periodically for a predetermined period of time after the emergency services call centre number has been called. This is seen as a particularly effective computer program product as the caller's location can be tracked for some time after the call has been made. It is not uncommon for an individual to move from their original location after making a call and this will allow the caller to be located for some time after terminating the voice call with the emergency services call centre. Furthermore, if the individual is being abducted and they are able to initiate a 999 call, their location can be tracked for some time after making the call even if they are being moved.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the MCD contact address comprises the mobile telephone number of the MCD.

This is seen as a particularly useful MCD contact address to use. By using the MCD's mobile telephone number, the location data can be paired with the voice call record efficiently.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program product carries out the steps of: detecting whether or not the GAS component on the MCD is enabled; and on determining that the OPS component on the MCD is disabled, the computer program product displaying a prompt on a user interface of the MCD for the MCD user to enable the GPS component.

Preferably, the prompt will provide an actionable task that will allow the GE'S component to be activated, for example a "button" displayed on a touchscreen graphical user interface (GUI) of the MCD that may be pressed in order to activate the GPS. Similarly, if Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth capabilities are turned off or disabled on the phone, the computer program product may carry out similar steps to enable the Wi-Fi and/or the Bluetooth component.

In another embodiment of the present invention, one or more of the GPS component, the Wi-Fi component and the Bluetooth component may be activated automatically by the computer program product upon the computer program product detecting that the relevant component is tumed off. In a further still embodiment, the GPS component, Wi-Fi component and or the Bluetooth component may be activated remotely by an operator in a call centre (or by a computer program product running on a call centre computer) by transmitting an appropriate instruction from the call centre to the calling MCD.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the step of monitoring the MCD to determine whether an emergency services call centre number is being called from the MCD comprises monitoring the Telephony Manager component of the MCD. This is seen as a particularly efficient way of monitoring the calls from an MCD operating using the Android operating system. A similar arrangement may be provided on MCDs operating using the iOS operating system.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the step of retrieving the most recent location data of the MCD from MCD memory comprises querying the Location API on the MCD for the most recent location data.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program product has program instructions for carrying out the initial installation step of prompting the MCD user to validate the MCD contact address retrieved from memory.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program product is launched on phone power up and remains operational in the background at all times. By having a computer program product operational in the background at all times, it will not be necessary to activate the app and it will in fact be always monitoring for an emergency call. This will avoid any delays in alerting the emergency services.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a mobile communication device having the computer program product installed thereon.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product having program instructions that when loaded on a computer causes the computer to perform the step of: pairing (i) a primary communication channel servicing an emergency services call between an emergency services call centre and an MCD, with (ii) a secondary communication channel having the most recent location data of the MCD communicated thereon.

This is seen as a particularly useful computer program product that may be implemented on an emergency services call centre computer. The emergency services call centre computer will be able to combine the location data with the caller data so that as the caller is explaining the emergency situation, the emergency services call centre personnel will be made aware of their location which can be passed on the emergency services field personnel to assist them in locating the caller.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program product causes the computer to display the most recent location data of the MCD on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the computer of the emergency call centre.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program product continues to display the most recent location data of the MCD on the GUI of the computer for a predetermined period of time after the emergency services call centre has been called. In this way, the emergency services call centre personnel will be able to continue to track the whereabouts of the caller after the voice call has been terminated allowing them to ensure that they can be reached by the

emergency services field personnel.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a computer program product in which the computer program product plots the most recent location data of the MCD on a map on the GUI.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a system for processing emergency services calls, the system comprising an emergency services call centre computer and a plurality of remote mobile communication devices (MCDs) connectable with the call centre computer through a communications network, in which: each of the remote MCD5 has a computer program product having program instructions that when operated on the MCD, causes the MCD to carry out the steps of: monitoring the MCD to determine whether an emergency services call centre number is being called from the MCD; and on detecting that an emergency services call centre number is being called from the MCD, the computer program product causing the MCD to: retrieve an MCD contact address from MCD memory; retrieve the most recent location data of the MCD from MCD memory; and transmit the MCD contact address and the most recent location data to the emergency services call centre computer; and the emergency services call centre computer having a computer program product having program instructions that when loaded on a computer causes the computer to perform the step of: pairing an emergency services call from an MCD with the most recent location data of the MCD communicated thereto.

By having such a system, it will be possible to locate callers to the emergency services call centre that are calling from an MCD in a far quicker, more effective manner. Less time will be wasted conveying the position data to the emergency services call centre, the system will be easier and more effective in use than the known solutions and less time will be wasted searching for callers by the emergency services field personnel.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a system according to the invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a mobile communication device with the computer program product according to the invention stored thereon; Figures 3(a) to 3(g) are screen shots of the computer program product according to the invention in operation on the mobile communication device; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a computer with the computer program product according to the invention stored thereon; Figure 5 is a screen shot of the computer program product according to the invention in operation on the computer.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a system for processing emergency seivices calls, indicated generally by the reference numelal 1, comprising a emergency seivices call centre 3 in which there is provided a plurality of emergency services call centre personnel S each manning an emergency call services centre computer 7. The system 1 further comprises a plurality of remote mobile communication devices (MCDs) 9 each of which belongs to a user (not shown). The MCDs are able to communicate with the operators 5 in the emergency services call centre via a communications network 11. In the embodiment shown, the communication network 11 comprises a plurality of communication networks including a mobile telephony network and the internet.

In use, users of the MCDs experiencing an emergency dial "999" on their MCD 9 and the call is routed through a mobile telephony network over link 13 to the emergency services call centre 3. The call is routed in the emergency seivices call centre to an emergency seivices call centre personnel 5 operating a computer. The emergency seivices call centre personnel will talk through the service required by the user (i.e. fire service, ambulance, police) and will direct their call accordingly. The MCDS 9 each have a computer program product loaded thereon (not shown) which is operable to detect the user dialling 999" on the MCD and in response to detecting the dialling of the emergency number, will automatically retrieve the mobile telephone number of the MCD and the current location of the MCD and will transmit that information to the emergency services call centre computer 7. The information is transmitted to the emergency services call centre computer over an internet link 15. The emergency services call -10-centre computer 7 will be able to pair the incoming voice call made from the MCD 9 over link 13 with the incoming data containing the location of the MCD sent over link 15.

As the emergency services call centre personnel 5 is talking to the user of the MCD 9, the emergency services call centre personnel 5 will be able to see the location of the MCD on a graphical user interface of the emergency services call centre computer 7.

Ideally, the link 15 will be kept open after the link 13 has been terminated thereby allowing the emergency services call centre computer 7 to continue to track the movement of the MCD 9 over time after the emergency services call has been made.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a diagrammatic representation of an MCD 9 in which the computer program product according to the invention is stored. The computer program product, indicated by the reference numeral 21, is stored in MCD memory 23.

The MCD 9 further comprises a Telephony manager component 25, a Location API 27 and a GPS component 29 thereon. In use, the computer program product is either preloaded on the device or is subsequently downloaded onto the MCD 9. As an initial step, the computer program product 21 queries the MCD for the MCD phone number, may ask for user confirmation that the MCD number is correct, and thereafter stores the MCD number in memory accessible to the computer program product 21. When the MCD is powered up, the computer program product 21 is always running in the

background.

The computer program product is constantly monitoring the Telephony Manager component 25. The computer program product detects through its monitoring of the Telephony Manager component 25 when a user dials "999" and determines that this is a call to the emergency services. The computer program product then retrieves the MCD phone number from memory 23 and polls the Location API 27 for the most recent location of the MCD. The Location API returns the most recent location of the MCD to the computer program product 21. If the computer program product should detect that the GPS of the mobile telephone is currently off, the computer program product will generate a prompt on the screen for the user of the MCD to turn the OPS component 29 on. The computer program product 21 will thereafter transmit the MCD phone number and the most recent location of the MCD to the emergency services call centre 3 over an internet link. When received by the emergency services call centre, the emergency -11 -services call centre computer 7 will be able to pair the incoming voice call with the corresponding location data by matching the MCD phone number from the voice call with the MCD phone number from the incoming data.

In addition to or instead of prompting the user to turn on the GAS, the computer program product may prompt the user to turn on the Wi-Fi and/or the Bluetooth component.

Alternatively, it is envisaged that the computer program product could automatically turn one or more of the GAS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi components on. In a further alternative, an operator or the computer program product in the control centre may send an instruction to the MCD to turn one or more of the GE'S, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi components on.

Referring to Figures 3(a) to 3(g) inclusive, there are shown a number of representative screenshots illustrating the operation of the mobile communication device. Referring first of all to Figure 3(a), there is shown a representative screenshot of the MCD graphical user interface (GUI) 31 shortly after a call is initiated to the emergency services call centre 3. The GUI 31 comprises a number of sections including a "Your Mobile No: (number)" section 33 with the MCD phone number shown in that section, a "Your Location" section 35 with the current GAS co-ordinates shown in that section, a map section 37 to illustrate the location on a map and show local landmarks and access routes to the current location, and a "Live Text" button 39.

If depressed, the "Live Text" button 39 will allow the user of the MCD to perform a request for emergency services by typing in commands or depressing the screen in certain areas in order to call for help. This is seen as particularly useful for those users that may be hearing or speech impaired or for those individuals that may be unable to talk at that moment in time. By pressing the "Live Text" option, the user will be brought through one or more of a number of screens, as illustrated in Figures 3(b) to 3(g), and will be able to communicate with the control centre computer through text rather than voice.

Referring to Figure 3(b), if the user of the MCD 9 has pressed the "Live Text" option 39 on the screenshot shown in Figure 3(a), a number of options will be presented to the user in screen 3(b) on the user interface 31. For example, the user will be presented with a Police button 41, a Fire Service (Brigade) button 43, an Other button 45, an -12-Ambulance Service button 47, a Coast Guard button 49, a "Type In" (free text) button 51 or a "Go Back to Talk" button 53 to return to a voice call option.

If the user selects the Police button 41 on the screen shown in Figure 3(b) they will be directed to the screen shown in Figure 3(c) which provides them with a number of options on the GUI 31 including Assault, Kidnap, Other, Robbery, Road Accident, Armed Response, Type In and Back. This list is exemplary only and is not deemed limiting and other or indeed more options could be provided as well or instead of one or more of these options. By depressing the relevant button or typing in the crime, the police service will be alerted to the type of crime in progress and the resources that they need to allocate to that crime. The user will also be provided with a Back option in case they pressed the button for the police in error on the screen shown in Figure 3(b) and a "Go Back to Talk" option 53.

If the user selects the Ambulance button 47 on the screen shown in Figure 3(b), they will be directed to the screen shown in Figure 3(d). Again, the GUI 31 will have a number of options including, but not limited to, Heart (indicating a heart attack or other heart related problem), Stroke, Other, Natural Disaster, Car Accident, Serious Injury, Back and Type In. By depressing the relevant button, the user will be taken to the previous screen or the ambulance service will be alerted to the type of medical emergency and the resources that they need to allocate to that medical emergency. The user will also be provided with a "Go Back to Talk" option 53.

If the user selects the Fire button 43 on the screen shown in Figure 3(b), they will be directed to the screen shown in Figure 3(e). Again, the GUI 31 will have a number of options including, but not limited to, Large Fire, Trapped, Other, Small Fire, Road Accident, Oil Spill, Back and Type In. By depressing the relevant button, the user will be taken to the previous screen or the fire service will be alerted to the type of situation that they will face and the resources that they need to allocate to that situation. The user will also be provided with a "Go Back to Talk" option 53.

If the user selects the Coast Guard button 49 on the screen shown in Figure 3(b), they will be directed to the screen shown in Figure 3(f). Again, the GUI 31 will have a number of options including, but not limited to, Sinking, Other, Capsized, Stranded, Back and -13-Type In. By depressing the relevant button, the user will be taken to the previous screen or the Coast Guard service will be alerted to the type of situation that they will face and the resources that they need to allocate to that situation. The user will also be provided with a "Go Back to Talk" option 53.

If the user selects the Other button 45 on the screen shown in Figure 3(a), they will be directed to the screen shown in Figure 3(g). Again, the GUI 31 will have a number of options including, but not limited to, Priest, Mountain Rescue, Back and Type In. By depressing the relevant button, the user will be taken to the previous screen or the relevant service will be alerted to the type of resources that they need to allocate to that situation. The user will also be provided with a "Go Back to Talk" option 53. If the user wishes to type in more detail about the situation or if none of the other options is deemed appropriate, the user can select the "Type In" button 51 and type in details of the emergency so that the appropriate resources can be allocated to them. If desired, an additional text box may be provided on one or more of the screens shown in Figures 3(a) to 3(g) inclusive to allow the emergency services call centre operator 5 to send text messages to the user of the MCD such as, but not limited to, "Help is on the Way", "Stay in your Current Location", "ETA of ambulance 10 minutes", "Keep Patient Warm", "Get out (of the house) and Stay Out".

It can be seen from the foregoing screens 3(a) to 3(g), that it is possible for the person calling the emergency services to alert the emergency services to the nature of the emergency and to seek help by traversing through only three screens. This will enable the person seeking help to call for help quickly with relatively little difficulty.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown an emergency services control centre computer, indicated generally by the reference numeral 7, comprising a processor 71, a graphical user interface 73 and memory 75. A computer program product 77 is stored in memory 75 and is operable to pair incoming voice calls with incoming location data from MCDs so that the emergency services control centre personnel 5 can determine the location of an individual during and after the call from that individual.

The computer program product 77 pairs a primary communication channel 13 servicing an emergency services call between an emergency services call centre 3 and an MCD -14- 9, with a secondary communication channel 15 having the most recent location data of the MCD communicated thereon. The computer program product 77 causes the computer 7 to display the most recent location data of the MCD on a graphical user interface (GUI) 73 of the computer 7. Furthermore, the computer program product S continues to display the most recent location data of the MCD 9 on the GUI 73 of the computer 7 for a predetermined period of time after the emergency services call centre 3 has been called and typically after the voice call channel 13 has been closed.

Referring to Figure 5, there is shown an illustrative embodiment of the GUI 73 of the computer 7. The GUI comprises a number of fields including the calling parties number field 81, the callers location field 83 and the map field 85. The computer program product 77 plots the most recent location data of the MCD 9 on a map in the map field 85 on the GUI 73. It will be understood that other fields may be provided and/or other screens may be provided to allow the emergency services control centre personnel 5 to input details relating to the incident as they speak with the user of the MCD 9.

Various modifications can be made to the embodiments hereinbefore described without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the location information is transmitted over an internet link however a Short Messaging Service (SMS) connection could be used instead to transfer the location data periodically to the emergency services control centre computer 7. The length of time that the system continues to track the MCD after the voice call component has been terminated may vary from service to service, from location to location and depending on the emergency.

For example, it may be deemed appropriate to keep the location tracking ongoing for a period of at least 30 minutes after an ambulance call is made from a rural area whereas it may be more appropriate to keep the location tracking ongoing for 15 minutes in an urban area where response times are typically, although not always, quicker. Indeed, it may factor in traffic, the time of day and the day of the week that the call is received. It may be deemed appropriate to keep tracking a user filing a police service request for a period of at least one hour after the call component 13 is terminated or until an indication is received from emergency services field personnel that they are at the scene.

In some cases, it may be necessary or preferable to use an MCD contact address other than the MCD mobile number. The MCD contact address could be an IP address or -15-could be an IMEI address that the MCD would use if operating without a SIM card when making the emergency call. The MCD contact address could be the MAC address of the MCD if the phones OSM is disabled and the MCD is communicating through a Wi-Fi network. The MCD is preferably a mobile telephone or smart phone but could be another communication device including but not limited to a tablet, a phablet, a laptop, a notepad, an eReader, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a laptop or a desktop computer or the like.

In the embodiments described, the computer program products are loaded on the MCD 9 and the emergency services control centre computer 7. The computer program products may be pre-loaded on these devices or may be installed such as by downloading an App from an App store or other online store. The computer program product may be embodied in software or firmware if desired.

In this specification, the invention has been described in relation to a MCD device operating using the Android Operating System (OS) and reference is made to the Telephony Manager and the Location API which are components of the Android OS.

However, the invention is not so limited and it is intended that the present invention may also be used with Apples OS and other operating systems. All that is required is for the computer program product to obtain the call registry information and the location information from equivalent or comparable sources in the other operating systems.

In this specification reference is made to tracking the location of an individual MCD using GPS. However, it will be understood that an MCDs location can be ascertained using several other methodologies and technologies and is not limited to GPS tracking.

Indeed, due to the inherent difficulties with OPS indoors, it is envisaged that the tracking of the MCD location will be a combination of GPS and Wi-Fi or other tracking techniques to provide the most accurate location information possible. Other tracking technologies that may be used include, but are not limited to, Skyhook SDK and/or Navizon SDK.

Furthermore, an IP address, a cell mast triangulation technique or other tracking techniques could be used to good effect.

If necessary, the computer program product according to the invention can cause the Wi-Fi, GPS or other component on an MCD to turn on in order to facilitate tracking of the -16-MCD during and perhaps shortly after the emergency. The consent of the user may be required to enable this functionality in light of privacy concerns. If the MCDs number is normally blocked from view of receivers, the computer program product for storage on the MCD can be provided with functionality to unblock that number display feature and allow the number to be shown to called parties.

It will be understood that the method according to the present invention will be performed largely in software and therefore the present invention extends also to computer programs, on or in a carrier, comprising program instructions for causing a computer and or an MCD to carry out steps of the method. The computer program may be in source code format, object code format or a format intermediate source code and object code. The computer program may be stored on or in a carrier, in other words a computer program product, including any computer readable medium, including but not limited to a floppy disc, a CD, a DVD, a memory stick, a tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM or a hardware circuit. In certain circumstances, a transmissible carrier such as a carrier signal when transmitted either wirelessly and/or through wire and/or cable could carry the computer program in which cases the wire and/or cable constitute the carrier.

It will be further understood that the present invention may be performed on two, three or more machines with certain parts of the computer-implemented method being performed by one machine and other parts of the computer-implemented method being performed by another device. The devices may be part of a LAN, WAN or could be connected together over a communications network including but not limited to the internet. Many of the method steps could be peiformed "in the cloud", meaning that remotely located processing power may be utilised to process certain method steps of the present invention.

Accordingly, it will be understood that many of the method steps may be performed remotely, by which it is meant that the method steps could be performed either on a separate machine in the same locality or jurisdiction or indeed on a separate machine or machines in one or several remote jurisdictions. For example, the MCDS 9 and the emergency services call centre computer 7 may be in different jurisdictions. Some of the MCDs could be in one jurisdiction, other MCDs could be located in another jurisdiction, -17-the emergency services call centre computer 7 could be located in the same or another jurisdiction. A cloud store may be provided as an intermediate storage location for data transmitted from the MCDs to the emergency services call centre computer 7 and the cloud store, effectively a server and database, may be located in the same or other jurisdiction as well. The present invention and claims are intended to also cover those instances where the system is operated across two or more machines or pieces of apparatus located in one or more jurisdictions and those situations where the parts of the system are spread out over one or more jurisdictions.

In this specification the terms "include, includes, included and including" and the terms "comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" are all deemed totally interchangeable and should be afforded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is in no way limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the appended claims. -18-