A 111 text service for deaf and hearing impaired people was launched in New Zealand on Friday. The initiative's been developed by Police, Deaf New Zealand, the Fire Service and St John over the past few months. Until now, deaf and hearing impaired people have relied on faxes,or tele- typewriter phones, which depend on the user being at home. In September, emergency services and Deaf Aotearoa held a series of meetings around the country with the deaf community to explain the text service. Police would receive all emergency texts on behalf of the fire service and ambulance services and pass them on for action. Registration for the service opened on Friday. 