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'She's not breathing': Boy (4) uses Siri to call emergency services to save mother

Once through to emergency services, the boy was able to say what his address was.

TheJournal.ie / YouTube

A FOUR-YEAR-old boy in Croydon, south London, managed to call emergency services after finding his mother unconscious by using the Siri function on her smartphone.

When his mother wouldn’t wake up, the four-year-old named Roman used her thumb to unlock the phone, and use the Siri function to ask for help.

It dialled 999 and put Roman through to emergency services.

He told the call handler that he thought his mother was dead because “she’s closing her eyes and she’s not breathing”.

The boy was able to say where he lived and what his address was.

Thirteen minutes later, officers arrived and forced their way into the home in Kenley, Croydon, where they found the boy, his twin brother and a younger brother all inside with their mother who lay unconscious on the floor.

She received treatment from paramedics and was brought to hospital after regaining consciousness at home.

Chief Superintendent Ade Adelekan said that this situation demonstrated the importance of teaching children their home address and what to do in an emergency situation.

He said: “If you do nothing else today, then I’d implore any parents of young children to sit down with them and make sure they know what to do in this kind of situation.

As this case demonstrates so poignantly, it could really be the difference between life and death.

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9 Comments
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    Mute Barry Evans
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    Oct 11th 2021, 6:33 PM

    Genuine question, not trolling or stirring…….what sectors still aren’t open that sees/warrants almost 100,000 people still being on the PUP? There’s a massive labour shortage in the country and there seems to be a percentage of people benefiting financially from staying on the PUP as opposed to going back to work. That includes foreign nationals who went back to their birth country and are in receipt of the payment (matter of fact, not speculation).

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    Mute Mary Finn
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    Oct 11th 2021, 6:51 PM

    @Barry Evans: they should make everyone on it turn in person next week to collect it. Then they will know how many in the country or not.

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    Mute David F. Dwyer
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    Oct 11th 2021, 7:07 PM

    @Barry Evans: The ELE sector was permitted to resume activity last month however it’s going to take time to rebuild it. Students aren’t just going to start coming here again overnight and until there is enough to facilitate more classes there will still be a lot of teachers out of work. Speaking for myself I am not benefiting financially from staying on the PUP as opposed to going back to work and will be only too happy to return to my post when it becomes available.

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    Mute Dean
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    Oct 11th 2021, 7:37 PM

    @Barry Evans:
    There may be a shortage of people who want to give their labour for cheap, or for free.

    But there’s not a labour shortage.

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    Mute Barry Evans
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    Oct 11th 2021, 8:05 PM

    @Dean: I can assure you that there’s a labour shortage and its not for jobs paying thrupence haypenny. Look at the construction sector and there are massive shortages of labour across the board. Your comment is a throw away one based on nothing

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    Mute Dean
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    Oct 11th 2021, 8:36 PM

    @Barry Evans:
    Shortage of supply = value increases. So we were taught.

    Shortage of houses and prices go up. But a “shortage” of labour and employers won’t offer the asking price; they just complain that there’s no one to work (for their low wages which don’t get people above water).

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    Mute Premier Fitters
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    Oct 11th 2021, 9:12 PM

    @Dean: What are you talking about, it doesn’t look like you’ve worked in a while or your possible unskilled. Over the past 12 months an acute labour shortage has occurred within many sectors. Rates of pay have increased to attract suitability skilled workers to fill these positions.

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    Mute Ryan O'Rourke
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    Oct 11th 2021, 9:40 PM

    @Barry Evans: Nightclubs & music venues still closed off the top of my head but a lot of people have left the country and many don’t want to work nights anymore and have moved into 9-5 jobs. Lack of language students most of whom would work 20 p/w in hospitality jobs and chronic housing issues doesn’t help either

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    Mute Ryan O'Rourke
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    Oct 11th 2021, 9:40 PM

    @Mary Finn: They got 20,000 to do that this week

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    Mute Barry Evans
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    Oct 11th 2021, 10:00 PM

    @Dean: employers won’t offer the asking price??? Are you having a giraffe? Labourers are being offered 18 quid an hour on sites and they still can’t get people. Hardly minimum wage! There’s a whole cohort in this country who don’t want to work or have grossly over valued themselves. Sounds like you’re definitely falling into the second bracket. I accept that there are some sectors like nightclubs and entertainment who are still stood down or dusting themselves down and starting again but it doesn’t get away from the fact that there’s a shortage of people willing to work. With regard to shortage of supply = increased value, a lot of companies are locked into fixed overheads, fixed price contracts etc from before this sh 1 t storm but sure go right ahead and only see one perspective!

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    Mute Pupi_51%
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    Oct 11th 2021, 10:44 PM

    @Barry Evans: The event industry is not yet re opened. No events at RDS for example. Husbands boss said business will resume in 2022 eventually. PUP is needed or otherwise drop a lifelong carrier. I get it you are not happy with people on PUP, Ireland is the slowest country in EU to re open events…

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    Mute Barry Evans
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    Oct 11th 2021, 11:10 PM

    @Pupi_51%: it’s not that I’m unhappy with people being on the PUP. If people from a particular sector for which they’re qualified, such as the one you mentioned, still can’t work then I have no issue whatsoever with them being in receipt of the payment. Once it can be verified in writing by their employer that the sector/organisation still isn’t operating or generating revenue. I dont however believe that’s the case in almost 100,000 recipients of the payment as per the article. If you can be working you should be working, simple as that!

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    Mute Cowboy Ted
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    Oct 12th 2021, 9:43 AM

    @Barry Evans:
    Nightclubs
    Live Venues
    Airline Travel is long way off normal (this is big)
    Some Public Transport (Nightlink)

    That is just a start… But the economy is not back on speed and there is places that it might never come back (due to us changing habits)

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    Mute Sarah Lou
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    Oct 11th 2021, 8:21 PM

    Slated for saying it a month ago and likely to be again now but when is enough enough. There are so many jobs out there. Sure people don’t want to do them, sure they don’t all pay well but it’s nearly 2 years since covid hit…. Can’t possibly be absolutely no other option for alot of the 100k.

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    Mute To Mt
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    Oct 11th 2021, 5:45 PM

    Thats on paper only, paper and reality are very different. If you know you know.

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    Mute Noel_Random
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    Oct 11th 2021, 5:57 PM

    @To Mt: very mysterious comment. Guessing the department moved away from paper a long time ago ;)

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    Mute john smith iv
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    Oct 11th 2021, 6:05 PM

    @To Mt: how can they not know how many people are on PUP? How do you know more? Be less mysterious and more specific.

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    Mute Chris Gaffney
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    Oct 11th 2021, 7:41 PM

    The department should send our questionnaires to see if people are still entitled to it.

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    Mute Hugh Morris
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    Oct 11th 2021, 11:12 PM

    @Chris Gaffney: they did

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