999 Day (9th September) and Air Ambulance Week (6-12th September) aim to bring attention and support to the incredibly important work of the NHS and emergency services; these awareness days also highlight ways in which the public can help emergency services reach people in trouble or who need attention quicker and more efficiently.

One of these tools is the free location app, what3words, which is used by over 85% of UK emergency services and has become an important part of the emergency toolkit for response teams country-wide.

what3words’ precise location technology enables emergency dispatchers to pinpoint caller’s locations and direct response teams to exactly where help is needed – with 78% of UK emergency services agreeing with the statement that “what3words saves us time”. This precise technology is particularly useful when locating callers in areas without street addresses e.g. coastal areas, national parks and other rural locations.

Gill Pleming, Service Manager (EMS Coordination), at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said:
“what3words has proved to be an invaluable addition to our emergency response toolkit. It saves us time and resources in time critical situations. Our call handlers are trained to gather as much information as possible to identify where help is needed. This could include the area name, nearest road, landmarks, and more. The additional layer of accuracy that what3words provides saves us time when it matters most. We, like many emergency response teams across the UK, have worked closely with what3words to ensure that the technology is utilised effectively and accurately and to avoid any issues that may arise from human error when it comes to relaying words.”

what3words has divided the world into a grid of 3-metre squares and given each square a unique identifier made of three random words – a what3words address. For example, situated at the base of the highest peak in the British isles and a popular tourist destination, the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre can be found at ///stoppage.inhaled.staple.