Medical Emergency – Who to Contact?
When we moved here, my kids and I had one golden rule, and when asked they could recite it back without a moment’s hesitation. “Okay troops, what is the one thing we will not be seeing when we move to Switzerland?” All three would respond (with some rolling of the eyes by the oldest), “The inside of a hospital.”
Coming from an accident-prone, asthmatic, allergic-to-insect-stings, kidney-stone-plagued family, it might seem a lofty goal. It was. Noble, but lofty. And I was the one to break down and go inside first.
My advice to all mothers, fathers, and caregivers: find your local hospital and understand what services they provide, what ages they will treat, where the emergency room entrance is. Hopefully, you will never need this information, but in the event you do and it’s a true emergency, any stress you can alleviate by preparing yourself outside of the medical emergency is a good thing.
When you or your child is hurting or sick, whipping out Google Translate to find the word for “emergency room” will seem to take hours. Incidentally, in German it’s Notfall (ambulance is Krankenwagen and nurse is Krankenschwester, which just makes me smile). Keep the numbers handy – on the refrigerator, in your phone, in your kids’ phones, on a actual piece of paper. Stress does unusual things to memory. Furthermore, shaking fingers and small electronics are an unhappy mix.
It may be comforting to hear that the standard of care I have experienced in Switzerland has been excellent. I found staff to be friendly, the facilities to be immaculate, and the cost reasonable.
It is probably not as comforting to hear that if you carry private insurance (not issued by the country you are residing in), you may be asked to put a substantial amount down on a credit card as a deposit against services. What is also important to know is that procedures may vary slightly from hospital to hospital.
Lately, I have heard much discussion about which hospitals treat children. I asked at the Kantonsspital (cantonal hospital) in Zug and was told that they will treat any age in a true medical emergency. But in general, children under twelve will be referred to the Children’s Hospital (Kinderspital) in Lucerne, which is exactly what happened with my youngest daughter when she broke her arm. They put a half cast on and took a few x-rays, but the remainder of the care was done by the Children’s Hospital. Your best source of information will be your pediatrician.
Have a plan. Know where you are going, where you should park, and have your insurance information and your credit card handy. I hope you don’t ever need it.
By Jennifer Dziekan
Jennifer and her family have lived in Switzerland for three years. A high school guidance counselor on sabbatical, Jennifer has hosted many guests and hasn’t had a complaint yet.
As Jennifer says, have the emergency numbers handy. We have produced a PDF phone number list for you to print. It includes the national emergency numbers and space for you to add your own local numbers.
Illustration by Laura Munteanu
Laura has studied journalism and advertising, and has been working as a journalist and an illustrator, illustrating for magazines, websites, charities, and diverse campaigns. She lives in Zurich with her husband and six-year-old daughter.
Emergency Phone Number List by Andrea Snashall
Andrea’s background is in education, having taught kids and adults for many years, as well as coordinating school marketing/community relations. She has two kids and has been a Mothering Matters’ team member since 2004.
