Helping the Emergency Services to Help You

Dealing with a family member or friend when they are having a problem at home and have to be admitted into hospital is stressful at the best of times. This document aims to provide some basic guidelines as to the best way to help the emergency services by providing all of the information they require on a single piece of paper, therefore allowing them to get on with their jobs and help the patient as quickly as possible.

All of the most commonly needed information can be easily fitted into a single piece of A4 paper, which when set out properly can provide the reader with all of the crucial information about a patient including any allergies to medications, as well as any existing conditions.

In the middle of a piece of A4 paper turned around into a landscape orientation, in as large letting as possible write the words “EMERGANCY INFORMATION” and underneath this in slightly smaller lettering “BRING ME TO HOSPITAL”.

By doing this, you are giving the emergency services a few more seconds treating the patient, and potentially those seconds can save someone’s life.

Now on the top left hand side of the piece of paper in clear letting, write all of the patient’s GP’s information, including their telephone number. Underneath this, if you have it, write the hospital number or ID, this again can help everyone in the hospital find the information about the patient a lot quicker can again provide information a few seconds quicker.

On the top right of the page list all of the medication, amounts and how many times the dosage is taken. Underneath this write any allergies that the patient has. This can potentially save a patient’s life by informing the emergency personnel what the patient is known to be allergic to.

On the bottom right of the page, write any known conditions that the patient has. List these in order of seriousness, and leave any mental health conditions until last.

Finally, on the bottom left of the page, write the patients FULL name, their date of birth, and their approximate weight.  

By doing this you can save a patient being asked more questions than necessary, and can give the emergency personnel a few more crucial seconds.

If you are known to attend hospital regularly also make sure that you have an overnight bag ready to go at all times. In this bag place the following items to ensure that you have everything you need to keep the patient comfortable during the first 24 hours of their stay or until someone can bring some more items into the hospital for the patient.

1. A change of clothes
2. Toothbrush and a tube of your NORMAL toothpaste
3. A comb or hairbrush
4. Some nightwear
5. A spare mobile phone charger
6. A small amount of money (A suggested amount of £10 in coins of £1 and below)
7. A small quantity of each of the tablets that you take on a regular basis. In an emergency the doctors may not always have immediate access to your specific medications, so carrying a small amount of each can prove very useful.
8. Some cigarettes (if the patient is a smoker)

This bag will save you rushing around when you do need to go into hospital, and will save valuable time when treating a seriously ill patient.

By following the recommendations in this article, you can potentially save the life of the person you are applying it to.