What to do in a medical emergency?

[Earlybird]

Don't know why, but recently I have been thinking about what I would do if dd had a serious accident or if there was a medical emergency. I am not English, and have no idea what the correct proceedure would be.

Would we go to a hospital A & E? (we're in central London, so would appreciate knowing what hospitals have A&E facilities.....or do they all have it?) Would I call my NHS doctor or simply deal with whoever is on duty at the time? Would I call my private doctor? At what point would private insurance need to be called? Any information I should have with me in order to be treated?

God forbid anything should happen, but would appreciate input so that I have an emergency action plan should I ever need it. I'm a single mum too, so it would all be down to me should a situation like this arise......thanks in advance for any advice as it really will put my mind at ease.

In an accident or medical emergency you should take the child straight to A & E if it's safe to move them. If you think there may be broken bones, uncontrolled bleeding or breathing difficulties call 999 on the phone and ask for the ambulance service.

Your local doctor would be unlikely to attend an emergency, and you probably can't contact them outside surgery hours anyway

Most people just ring for an ambulance anyway.

1. Find out where your nearest hospital with paediatric A&E (ie, not just "ordinary" A&E) is. I don't actually know how you'd find out, but (eg) St. Mary's in Paddington has one. If you're not near there, presumably you could call them and ask how you could find out about others. Then go one day and scope it out - where the entrance is, where to park, etc. - so those things wouldn't be extra stress if you ever had to use it.

2. The Parent Company 's classes are a great resource - pricey, but we thought worth it. A paediatric A&E nurse will come to your own home to teach you about basic life support and first aid, what to do in an accident, and can tell you all about how the system works (from the inside!).

3. NHS Direct (0845 4647) is actually quite quick and good - sorted out my horribly infected eye for me over this last weekend. I'd use it before 999.

this is obvious, but of course would use NHS Direct before 999 only for something clearly non-life-threatening

No, I wasn't suggesting ringing 999 for anything not emergency.

Earlybird did ask about accident or medical emergency.

The thing about NHS direct is that you can wait hours for a callback (I know, I took dh to hospital once after waiting 4 1/2 hours just for a callback from a nurse).

easy, wasn't challenging your advice - was trying to clarify my own message as on re-reading it sounded misleading

very sorry about your NHS Direct experience