No matter what country you live in or happen to be visiting, if a medical emergency takes place you’ll need to contact Emergency Medical Services (EMS), either directly or through your local ambulance service or police department. Other helpful numbers are also listed by country, below.
A medical emergency can involve many circumstances. Those that can result from drug and/or alcohol use/abuse include but are not limited to:
- Injury or illness: physical trauma, poisoning, burns, hyper- or hypothermia, drug overdose, shock
- Cardiac or circulatory problems: cardiac arrhythmia or arrest, myocardial infraction (heart attack), aneurysm, embolism, hemorrhaging
- Metabolic issues: dehydration, coma
- Psychiatric conditions: psychotic episodes, suicidal attempt, Serotonin Syndrome
- Respiratory complications: asphyxia, asthma, respiratory failure
If you or someone you know has a medical emergency, please follow the guidelines below when reporting the situation:
Before venturing out if you are in a foreign country, bring along a list of the local emergency numbers, and add them to your mobile device. If you are in a group and have been drinking or taking recreational drugs, DO NOT drive yourselves to a hospital if an emergency takes place. Call the local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for the fastest and safest solution.
- Speak slowly and clearly when reporting an emergency
- State the nature of your emergency and its location
- Give the operator your callback number in case you are disconnected
- Keep aware of any substances people with you are consuming, including alcohol and legal or illegal drugs
- Alert the operator of any medical information you have found about the person in danger, such as a medical alert bracelet or a medical history sheet carried in their wallet
- Advise the operator of any medical skills you or others present may have, such as CPR or first-aid training. Do Not play doctor, unless you are one
- Stay calm, be patient and remain focused on details
- Follow all instructions given you by the professionals advising you
- Keep a mental or written list of the time that each event takes place after the emergency request is submitted, such as when the person was hurt, how long they have been bleeding or have been unconscious, etc.
In most western countries, both 911 and 112 will direct you to the Emergency Medical Services, even when the designated EMS number is different than the long-standing 911 or 112 emergency numbers.
Land-line phones offer emergency personnel the number from which you are calling. In most cases the call is free of charge. Mobile phones do not always provide rescue workers with important information, and the numbers dedicated to mobile devices are often different than those of standard land-line emergency numbers. So always check when using a mobile phone or device (hence the advice to write down emergency numbers before venturing out).
Lastly, keep all your emergency contact information up to date. It is ultimately important that during a medical crisis you do everything you can to save a human life. Being overly concerned about the legal ramifications of helping someone at that time of an emergency will only serve to put others, and possibly yourself, in further danger.
To view a helpful video on how best to help someone who may have overdosed (before authorities arrive), please go here.
Australia
- Ambulance: 000/112 mobile
- Fire: 000/112 mobile
- Police: 000/112 mobile
- Other: Calls answered by an operator who will then arrange appropriate response team(s)
- Police will only be contacted if there is a possible threat to responding team.
- Poison Info. Center - 13 11 26 (throughout Australia)
France
- Ambulance: 112/15 (15 SAMU (Service d'aide médicale urgente)
- Fire: 112/18 (18 Sapeurs Pompiers)
- Police: 112/17 (Police/Gendarmerie)
- Other: All calls made to the wrong service will be transferred to the correct department
- Police may be called to medical emergencies, including those that are drug-related
- Languages spoken include English, French, German and bordering countries
Italy
- Ambulance: 112/118
- Fire: 112/119
- Police: 112/113
- Other: 118 Medical Emergency Services (EMS)
- Languages spoken include Italian, English, French; Spanish and German
- Poison Control (Centro Antiveleni) phone (+39) 06 3054343
- Poison website - http://www.tox.it/
Japan
- Ambulance: 119 (Tokyo Hospital Info - 03 3212 2323)
- Fire: 119
- Police: 110
- Other: Emergency Medical Interpretation (EMS) - 03 5285 8185
- TELL-Tokyo English Life-Line - 03 5774 0992 (9 a.m.- 11p.m.)
- Japan Helpline - 0570 000 911 (24/7, English, toll free)
- Metropolitan Medical & Health Info.Center - 03 5285 8181 (Mon - Fri 9 a.m.- 8 p.m.)
Latvia
- Ambulance: 140
- Fire: 175
- Police: 112/999
- Other:
- 113 Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
- Languages spoken include Latvian, Russian, English
- Calls made to the wrong departments will be transferred
[*]EMS website - http://www.nmpd.gov.lv/ (Latvian only)
Lithuania
- Ambulance:
- Fire:
- Police:
- Other:
- 112 All calls are dispatched through the Emergency Response Centre, via 112
- Languages spoken include Lithuanian, English, Russian, German and Polish
[*]EMS website - http://www.112.public.lu/
Luxembourg
- Ambulance: 112
- Fire: 112
- Police: 112/113
- Other:
- 112Emergency Medical Services
- Languages spoken include Luxembourgish, German, French and English
EMS website - http://www.112.public.lu/
Netherlands
- Ambulance: 112
- Fire: 112
- Police: 112
- Other:
- Languages spoken include Dutch, English, German and French
- EMS website - http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/alarmnummer-112
Poland
- Ambulance: 112 (replacing 999)
- Fire: 112 (replacing 999)
- Police: 112 (replacing 999)
- Other:
- Languages spoken include Polish, some English, German, Belarus, Lithuanian, Russian, Slovak, Czech and Ukrainian
- EMS website - http://www.112.gov.pl/
United States
- Ambulance: 911
- Fire: 911
- Police: 911
- Other:
- Poison Control Center phone 1-800-222-1222
- Poison control website - http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/default.aspx/Care
- Medical care is given regardless of one's ability to pay in the U.S.