A&E departments and the 999 ambulance service should only be used in a critical or life-threatening situation.

Dialing 999 and reporting an  emergency will result in an ambulance or other response vehicle being sent to your location.

If it is someone else you are phoning for remember to keep calm, do everything you can to help the person but don’t put yourself in danger.

A critical situation can include someone suffering:

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

 Dave Partlow, Emergency Care Practitioner

 

"The ambulance service should be accessed for emergency situations only. For example in the case of a heart attack, a (suspected) stroke, where serious blood loss has occurred and other conditions where the patient's life may be in danger. Every second counts in our ongoing quest to save lives and that's why it is vital that people 'Choose Well' this winter. For non-life threatening situations there are other healthcare options such as visiting a minor injury unit, GP or pharmacist and there is plenty of help and advice out there for people who are unsure - NHS Direct can contacted on 0845 46 47. Have a happy, healthy and safe season."

More information
Local A&E departments are:

Derriford Hospital - Tel: 01752 202 082
Torbay Hospital   - Tel: 01803 614 567 
North Devon District Hospital - Tel: 01271 322 577 
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital - Tel: 01392 411 611

You can also click through to the Main (Acute) Hospitals page on this website.

Click on the link below to view or download the Choose Well A3 leaflet:

   Choose Well A3 leaflet

Choose Well: web survey

We are keen to hear what you think about the Choose Well information provided on our website. This will help us to constantly improve what is available.

If you could give just 3 minutes of your time to complete our short web survey we would be most grateful, you can access it via the link below:

 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Choosewell10

Thank you in advance for taking the time to do this.

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