Emergency healthcare

Deciding if you need an emergency service

It is often very obvious if someone is seriously ill and needs immediate emergency care.

To help you decide, an emergency, critical or life-threatening situation may involve:

• unconsciousness
• a suspected stroke
• heavy blood loss
• a deep wound such as a stab wound
• a suspected heart attack
• difficulty in breathing
• severe burns
• a severe allergic reaction

Things to remember in an emergency

There are a few things that you should remember in any emergency to help you to deal with the situation quickly and efficiently.

They are:

• stay calm, shout for help
• you may need to get someone to telephone 999 - make sure they know where the ambulance has to come to and that they have some details about the person who is injured or ill
• don't put yourself in danger - if someone has been electrocuted, make sure you switch off the power supply before touching them
• do everything you can to help the person
• don't give the person anything to eat, drink or smoke
• don't stick anything in their mouth
• follow the instructions the ambulance service call handler may give you

The best way to help a person very often depends on what is wrong with them.

Sometimes, the quickest way to help is to take the person to the nearest Emergency Department (ED), depending on the area.

However, even in an area where your hospital is fairly close, you should call an ambulance and not move the patient if you think they:

• may have hurt their back or neck
• have any other injury that may be made worse by moving them
• the person has severe chest pain or difficulty breathing

If it's obvious that you or someone else needs emergency treatment, dial 999 free from any public or private telephone and ask for the ambulance service.

Your local Emergency Department

• Royal Victoria Hospital
• Children’s Hospital (Royal site)
• Mater Hospital
• Ulster Hospital
• Lagan Valley Hospital
• Antrim Area Hospital*
• Causeway Hospital*
• Craigavon Area Hospital*
• Daisy Hill Hospital*
• Altnagelvin Area Hospital
• South West Acute Hospital

*Hospitals offering the 'Phone First' service.

'Phone First' Service

Patients including children who are feeling unwell and considering travelling to any of the hospitals offering the Phone First Service for urgent treatment which is not immediately life threatening should Phone First.

Important things to remember about your Emergency Department

Remember:

• you should not go to an Emergency Department as an alternative to your GP
• calling 999 for an ambulance does not get you to the top of an ED queue - patients are seen based on medical need, not who gets to the hospital first

Emergency Department waiting times

You will be seen in the Emergency Department based on your medical condition which is assessed by a member of staff when you first arrive.

If you decide to go to the Emergency Department, the link below shows the current average waiting time to see the nurse or doctor who will treat you at those participating hospitals across Northern Ireland.

• Emergency Department average waiting times

Dental treatment

Few dental emergencies require out-of-hours intervention, but if it is needed your local HSC Trust will have made arrangements.

Any dental care service provided by them will only be for cases requiring urgent treatment that cannot wait until the next working day on which a dental practice is open.

Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) changes to dental care, including out of hours services are in place. More information is available on the Health and Social Care Board website.

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) - dental care

Contraception

If you have had unprotected sex and wish to get emergency contraception, also called the 'morning after pill', you can get this from either a doctor's surgery, a local Family Planning Clinic or a pharmacist.

Mental health

If you:

• are having emotional or mental problems that are of immediate concern
• need to talk to someone about another person's behaviour, at any time of the night or day

you can call either:

• Lifeline 0808 808 8000 - (Textphone :18001 0808 808 8000)
• Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 to talk to a trained volunteer
• Lifeline
• Find a mental health organisation

Genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics

If you're worried about having a sexually transmitted infection, you can get tested at a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. There are walk-in and appointment-only clinics available in hospitals and health centres. Men who have sex with men can get the HPV vaccine if they go to a GUM clinic.

Find out what's available in your Health and Social Care  (HSC) Trust area:

• Belfast HSC Trust - sexual health and HIV services
• Northern HSC Trust - sexual health service (GUM)
• South Eastern HSC Trust - sexual health service
• Southern HSC Trust - sexual health
• Western HSC Trust - sexual health services

More useful links

• How to use your health services
• GP out of hours service