Editing 999 (emergency telephone number) (section)

===Procedure===
999 or 112 is used to contact the emergency services upon witnessing or being involved in an [[emergency]]. In the United Kingdom, the numbers 999 and 112 both connect to the same service, and there is no priority or charge for either of them. Calls to [[911 (emergency number)|911]], [[North America|North America's]] emergency number, may be transferred to the 999 call system if the call is made within the United Kingdom from a mobile phone.

An emergency can be:
* A person in need of immediate medical assistance, or an immediate danger to life
* Suspicion that a [[crime]] is in progress, or that an offender is in the area
* Structure on fire
* Another serious incident which needs immediate emergency service attendance

All telecoms providers operating in the UK are obliged as part of their licence agreement to provide a free of charge emergency operator service. {{Asof|2014}} emergency calls made on any network in the UK are handled by [[BT Group|BT]]. BT operates seven call centres nationally to take 999/112 calls.
[[File:Flowchart for a 999 emergency call.svg|thumb|A flowchart for a 999 call]]
When 999 or 112 is dialled an operator will answer the call and ask, "Emergency. Which service?"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/calling_999/what_happens_when_you_call_999.aspx |title=What happens when you call 999 |date=8 July 2013 |website=London Ambulance Service |access-date=23 March 2016 |archive-date=8 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108062648/https://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/calling_999/what_happens_when_you_call_999.aspx}}</ref> Previously operators asked "Which service do you require?" (approximately up to the mid-90s).

The operator will then transfer the call to the appropriate service's own call-taker. If the caller is unsure as to which service they require, the operator will transfer the call to the police, and if an incident requires more than one service, for instance a road [[traffic accident]] with injuries and trapped people, one service will alert the others. (The operator has to contact each service individually, whether or not the caller remains on the line.) The caller will be connected to the service which covers the area that they are (or appear to be) calling from.

On 6 October 1998, [[BT Group|BT]] introduced a new system whereby all the information about the location of the calling telephone was transmitted electronically to the relevant service rather than having to be read out (with the possibility of errors). This system is called EISEC (Enhanced Information Service for Emergency Calls). Before it, the operator had to start the connection to the emergency service control room by stating their own location, then the caller's telephone number, e.g. "Bangor connecting 01248 300 000". It was common for the caller to be confused why the operator was talking to the emergency service, and frequently talked over the operator. Only around half of the emergency authorities have EISEC, although the number is ever increasing.

Although the initial response to all 999 calls is in English, callers who reply in Welsh are transferred to the Bangor control room where the call will be taken by Welsh-speaking operators.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTUKandWorldwide/BTRegions/Wales/WelshLanguagePolicy/WelshLanguagePolicy.htm |title=Welsh Language Policy |website=BT plc |access-date=11 September 2018 |archive-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912170144/https://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTUKandWorldwide/BTRegions/Wales/WelshLanguagePolicy/WelshLanguagePolicy.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.bt.com/the-999-service-is-80-years-old-today---and-more-than-48-million-calls-are-handled-from-the-bangor-call-centre-in-north-wales/|title=The 999 service is 80 years old today - and more than 4.8 million calls are handled from the Bangor call centre in North Wales|date=30 June 2017|access-date=18 February 2023|publisher=BT|archive-date=19 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219235517/https://newsroom.bt.com/the-999-service-is-80-years-old-today---and-more-than-48-million-calls-are-handled-from-the-bangor-call-centre-in-north-wales/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The rooms in which operators work are called operator assistance centres (OACs). There are six BT OACs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/read-this/999-call-operators-strike-today-over-bt-pay-3869352|title=999 call operators strike today over BT pay - how emergency calls will be affected|date=6 October 2022|publisher=Edinburgh Evening News|access-date=20 February 2023|archive-date=20 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220085000/https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/read-this/999-call-operators-strike-today-over-bt-pay-3869352|url-status=live}}</ref> The rooms in which emergency response operators work are called [[emergency control centre]]s (ECCs) and are operated by local authorities.

In some situations there may be specific instructions on nearby signs to notify some other authority of an emergency before calling 999. For example, railway bridges may carry signs advising that if a road vehicle strikes the bridge the railway authority (usually [[Network Rail]]) should be called first on a given number. Network Rail has its own procedures to alert trains to the emergency and to stop them if necessary. The instructions on the signs state 999 should then be dialled and that the police should be requested.

Access to the 999/112 service is provided for the hearing-impaired via [[Telecommunications device for the deaf|Textphone]] and use of the Text Relay service, run by BT to cover all telephone providers, and previously known as the [[Royal National Institute for Deaf People|RNID]] "Typetalk" relay service. The number is 18000.

999 is also accessible via [[SMS]] for pre-registered users.{{efn|[http://www.emergencysms.org.uk/how_to_send_text.php www.emergencySMS.org.uk Official website]}} The service is open for anyone to register and works with all major providers in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=Questions and answers |url=http://www.emergencysms.org.uk/questions_and_answers.php |website=Emergency SMS |access-date=22 February 2017 |archive-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223042926/http://www.emergencysms.org.uk/questions_and_answers.php |url-status=live }}</ref>