When you or a loved one is in trouble you need to know you can get medical attention as soon as possible. That's why our emergency home doctor service are available for call outs 24/7 and can reach you at home when you need us most.
Knowing you can get the medical help you need when you need it can give you real peace of mind - and that's exactly what you need in an emergency situation.
Should you find yourself needing to respond to an emergency, it is crucial that you remain calm. Panicking can make it difficult to take stock of what is happening and respond accordingly. It can also make it more difficult for you to tell doctors what they issue is as panic may cause you to forget or misinterpret key details.
If an emergency develops, the first thing you should do is ensure the area is safe before you proceed. If it isn't called our emergency home doctor service straight away. Do not put yourself in danger by entering an unsafe environment alone, you should always wait for help from trained medical professionals. If the area is safe, however, check to see if the person in trouble is responsive as you approach them.
If the individual is unresponsive but breathing, be sure to lie them in the recovery position and keep monitoring them as you wait for our home doctor service team to arrive. If they regain consciousness and start to respond to you, it is important that you try to keep them in the recovery position as this will help to prevent them causing themselves any further harm. Try to talk to them calmly so that you can continue to measure their responsiveness until our team arrives.
If in the worst case scenario you find that the individual is not breathing you should call our emergency home doctor service straight away, check that nothing is blocking their airways that could be preventing them from breathing or cause them to choke. If their airway is clear you should start to perform CPR to try and get the individual to breathe again while you wait for our team to arrive. CPR involves a combination of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth to help restart the heart and force air into the individual's lungs.
To perform CPR you should place the heel of your hand just below the individual's sternum. Place your other hand on top of your hand and push sharply and firmly downward. It can be helpful to think of the tune to the BeeGees 'Staying Alive' in order to time your chest compressions.
If after 5 chest compressions the individual does not start breathing you may need to deliver mouth to mouth. Pinch their nose gently, cover their mouth with yours and blow into their mouth. This will force air into their lungs and can help them to start breathing.
Repeat this method until the team from our home doctor service arrives or until the individual begins to breathe again - whichever happens first.
When the team arrive, if you have remained calm you should be able to fill in the doctors with all the information they need to carry out the correct method of care. Remember, our home doctor service is on hand whenever you need us.