Any condition requiring urgent medical treatment, such as cardiac arrest, or any procedure that must be performed immediately, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
A condition that needs urgent medical care. Examples include life-threatening injuries involving blood loss or damage to major organs, cardiac arrest or sudden loss of consciousness from, say, a blow or an epileptic ?t. Emergency is a term also applied to any resuscitative procedure that must be undertaken immediately – for instance, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (see APPENDIX 1: BASIC FIRST AID – Cardiac/respiratory arrest) or TRACHEOSTOMY. Patients with an emergency condition may initially be treated on the spot by suitably quali?ed paramedical sta? before being transported by road or air ambulance to a hospital Accident and Emergency department, also known as an A&E or Casualty department. These departments are sta?ed by doctors and nurses experienced in dealing with emergencies; their ?rst job when an emergency arrives is to conduct a TRIAGE assessment to decide the seriousness of the emergency and what priority the patient should be given in the context of other patients needing emergency care.
As their title shows, A&E departments (and the 999 and 112 telephone lines) are for patients who are genuine emergencies: namely, critical or life-threatening circumstances such as:
unconsciousness.
serious loss of blood.
suspected broken bones.
deep wound(s) such as a knife wound.
suspected heart attack.
di?culty in breathing.
suspected injury to brain, chest or abdominal organs.
•?ts. To help people decide which medical service is most appropriate for them (or someone they are caring for or helping), the following questions should be answered:
Could the symptoms be treated with an overthe-counter (OTC) medicine? If so, visit a pharmacist.
Does the situation seem urgent? If so, call NHS Direct or the GP for telephone advice, and a surgery appointment may be the best action.
Is the injured or ill person an obvious emergency (see above)? If so, go to the local A&E department or call 999 for an ambu
lance, and be ready to give the name of the person involved, a brief description of the emergency and the place where it has occurred.
A sudden unexpected onset of illness or injury which requires immediate care.
Measures to avoid pregnancy following unprotected sexual intercourse. There are 2 main methods: hormonal and physical. In the first, oral contraceptives (the “morning after” pill) are taken in a high dose as soon as possible, but not longer than 72 hours, after unprotected intercourse, with a second dose taken 12 hours later. They may be given as a high-dose progesterone-only pill or as a high-dose combined (oestrogen and progesterone) pill. In the physical method, an IUD is inserted by a doctor within 5 days of unprotected intercourse.... contraception, emergency
(MET) a team, usually consisting of a group of physicians, anaesthetists, and senior nurses, that can be summoned urgently to attend to patients with deteriorating medical conditions. The aim is to prevent further deterioration and to decide if enhanced levels of care are appropriate (e.g. on the high-dependency or intensive care units). The team will also assume the role of the *cardiac-arrest team.... medical emergency team
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