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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
On Tuesday, January 17, in the afternoon, the emergency services were difficult to reach for more than an hour and a half in around thirty departments in France. A network failure of the Orange operator would be involved. What to do when help cannot be reached by phone? Advice from Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
A major breakdown occurred on the network of the operator Orange, causing difficulty in accessing emergency services for more than an hour and a half, on Tuesday January 17, in around thirty departments ranging from Brittany to Burgundy, via Occitania. After a return to normal at the end of the day, the operator Orange publicly apologized for the situation, announcing that it had not yet found the origin of the breakdown.
Alternate numbers
The breakdown affected all emergency numbers, whether 15 for the Samu, 18 for the fire brigade and even 112, the common number for the emergency services. On the other hand, the 17 of the police was not affected and the situation returned to normal at the end of the afternoon.
The routing of emergency numbers has been operational again since 4:45 p.m. Reinforced vigilance is put in place. Orange apologizes for the inconvenience caused.
— Orange France (@Orange_France) January 17, 2023
But what to do during this time, if you are faced with an emergency situation? Some departments, such as Nièvre, have made mobile numbers available to the public as a replacement, but this was not the case everywhere.
Advice from Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo
“If you cannot reach the emergency room, the first instinct to have is to call from another telephone with a different operator if possible, where the network will likely work. You can also try to call from a fixed telephone As for numbers, you can try 15, 18 or 112. Another way to reach the hospital is to have the ten-digit number of the switchboard close at hand, on the fridge, for example. And if despite everything, you cannot reach the emergency services, you will then have to take your car and go directly to the hospital” concludes the doctor.