Dealing with Illness

Unfortunately, most people will need health care at some point, for more or less serious reasons. According to the seriousness of your condition and symptoms, you should deal with the illness in different ways.

In case of sudden, severe illness, or a serious accident, you should go immediately to the nearest Accident & Emergency department. If you are not able to reach it the department on your own, perhaps because you feel too unwell, you should call the free number 118 and ask for an ambulance to collect you. The telephone operators are experts, and should be able to evaluate the seriousness of the situation according to your symptoms; they will decide if it is necessary to send an ambulance, or send a doctor from the On-Call Medical Service.

It is important that you go to the Accident & Emergency department only when your condition is very serious. Otherwise, if the symptoms are less severe, you should go to your GP or contact the On-Call Medical Service if your GP is not available. For the address of your nearest On-Call Medical Service you can ask at your nearest Local Health Authority or check in the Yellow Pages.

If you see, or are involved in a car crash, you should immediately call 118. On the phone it is important to keep calm and give the operator key information, such as the place and time of the crash, the number of people involved, your personal data and telephone number.