000 – When to Call For an Ambulance and When Not To.

Would you know when to call an ambulance, when you don’t need an ambulance and when it is more appropriate to drive yourself to A&E or visit your GP instead?

Our emergency services are there for when we are at our most vulnerable, to help with life-threatening emergencies.

Sometimes it can be difficult to judge. Some people also wrongly believe that you get priority treatment arriving by ambulance. This is absolutely not the case – please don’t think of ambulance service as transport to hospital – you are calling them to provide emergency medical expertise.

The call handlers for all our emergency services are stretched to capacity. For this reason, calling them inappropriately will inevitably delay life-saving help from the police, fire service or paramedics to people who vitally need it. People may die as a result.

Knowing when we need to dial for help is vital.

Attending a practical or online first aid course will equip you with the skills to prioritise and recognise the most appropriate level of care needed. A quality first aid course should save you unnecessary visits to hospital and ambulance call outs. It will also give you the skills and confidence to treat many common medical emergencies at home.

The following information aims to help you assess how to best respond to medical emergencies.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. If you are seriously worried that someone is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, please do not hesitate to phone for an ambulance.

We strongly advise you to immediately administer First Aid and call an ambulance if someone experiences:

Unconsciousness – whether breathing or not breathing

Abnormal breathing

Obvious serious wound or suspected skull fracture

Bleeding or clear fluid from the nose, ear or mouth

Lack of co-ordination, disturbance of speech or vision, pupils of unequal size – following a head injury

Weakness or paralysis – following a head injury, or could possibly indicate a Stroke – think FAST test

Neck pain or stiffness, either following a fall or accident, or if extremely unwell

Fitting and seizures – particularly if this is the first time

Repeated vomiting following a head injury.

For a baby or young child – err on the side of caution. Children can deteriorate quickly.

Inability to pass urine, for a baby – a dry nappy for over 6 hours.

An acute anaphylactic attack.

An asthma attack that will not resolve with the inhaler.

Serious bleeding – particularly if it is bright red frothy blood or pulsating blood and will not stop with direct pressure.

Serious burns – give immediate first aid under cool running water, treat for shock and get help fast.

Showing signs of shock.

Possible indications of Sepsis or meningitis.

You probably don’t need ambulance transport, but you should take someone straight to emergency if they have:

A fever and are floppy and lethargic – but conscious.

Abdominal pain.

A bleeding wound that will probably need stitches or gluing, if they have amputated a finger or if have something embedded in the wound..

A leg or arm injury and can’t use the limb

Swallowed poison or tablets and are not showing any adverse effects. (calling 111 can also give you advise from the poisons database – if they are behaving strangely or experiencing any symptoms from the poison; call an ambulance immediately)

Go to your Family Doctor:

For other less serious and non-life-threatening medical concerns, contact your GP or phone Health Direct for medical advice.

The bottom line:

Trust your instincts. If you are seriously worried, administer First Aid and get medical help quickly.

If you are dealing with an emergency that involves a particularly vulnerable person, for example an elderly person, baby or very young child and you are seriously concerned – always call an ambulance.

Hot Response First Aid Training provide award-winning first aid training for groups and individuals, tailored to your needs.

We strongly recommend that you attend a Practical or online First Aid course to understand what to do in a medical emergency. Please visit www.hotresponsefa.com.au or tel 0429 881 353 for more information about our courses.

Hot Response First Aid Training provides this information for guidance and it is not in any way a substitute for medical advice. Hot Response First Aid Training is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made, or actions taken reading this information