ICE stands for In Case of Emergency, and paramedics are asking people to lock their emergency contact number under “ICE” in their mobile phone.

The manager of Batemans Bay Ambulance station, paramedic Mick Grayson, say that when attending emergencies, it can take only seconds for them to grab a patient’s mobile, look under ICE, and call the family member.

He said it saved time scrolling through mobile phones, trying to find family members, parents and partners’ numbers.

“It’s a guessing game,” he said. “We start looking for a ‘home’ or a ‘mum’ or ‘dad’.”

Without mobile phones, it could take hours for family or friends to be notified.

“The only way of finding it normally is once a patient goes to hospital and is identified,” Mr Grayson said.

However, if the patient has never been to a certain hospital, he or she won’t have a file, making it harder to contact next of kin.

Mr Grayson said ICE was especially important for children, who don’t usually carry identification with them but have mobile phones.

“If your child is involved in something, you’ve got no idea where they are,” he said.

It’s important the emergency contact understands your medical history, allergies, blood type, date of birth and address, according to Mr Grayson.

He also said ICE often helped identify and diagnose a patient.

“For example, if you’re an epileptic and we find you unconscious, being able to ring your next-of-kin may help early identification of what has actually happened to you,” Mr Grayson said.

“It helps us gather as much information as we can get and the more information we get in a timely manner could make a significant difference in a patient’s outcome.

“The thing with ICE is that just about everybody these days has a mobile phone. And it might be the only form of identification with them.”

ICE is an international campaign that started in the United Kingdom in 2005.

Mr Grayson said it wasn’t as big in Australia and paramedics would only find next-of-kin details on about one in 10 people.

He also suggested locking multiple emergency contact numbers under ICE1 or ICE2.

“But if people are concerned about putting details in the phone, they should also carry some form of identification of next-of-kin and medical conditions on a piece of paper,” he said.