Vulnerable people in the Chester area are now once again able to access the free life-saving emergency Message in a Bottle (MIAB) service provided by the Chester Lions Club.
This comes after a five year absence following the withdrawal of NHS support in October 2012. Prior to that more than 38,000 bottles had been distributed over an eight year period throughout the Chester and Ellesmere Port areas.
The scheme allows personal and medical details (including repeat prescription information) to be kept in a common place such as the fridge in the home, so that emergency services can access the information quickly, efficiently and effectively.
The bottles are now distributed via the following Countess of Chester Hospital departments: reception, diabetes, outpatients, haematology, stroke, A&E, cardiology and the eye clinic.
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In addition and in partnership with The Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), MIAB is being distributed with their emergency card service, RVS volunteers provide the bottles to vulnerable people when carrying out visits to their homes.
More than five million free MIAB bottles have been distributed throughout the UK and Ireland. Paramedics, police, firefighters and social services all support this life saving initiative.
The MIAB scheme has been an official countrywide project since 2004. Its success comes from the fact if a person is unconscious, unable to speak or in severe pain the emergency services can immediately access vital information to save time and possibly a life.
