Dealing with emergencies

3 minute read
 

You may not be able to prevent emergencies. Accidents, illness, life events and disasters can happen to anyone.

But planning ahead and thinking about what you will do in an emergency can help you to cope.

Take a moment to think about what you need to do if something happens to you or the person you care for.

If something happens to you

1. Have an emergency care plan

An emergency care plan has all the information about the person you care for in one place, so someone else can take over for you. Make an emergency care plan, keep it up to date and share it with your emergency contacts.

2. Call for help if you are hurt or in danger

If you need urgent help, call emergency services on triple zero (000). You can use a mobile phone to call triple zero, even if you are out of credit or out of range.

3. Call for emergency respite care

Respite care means someone else looks after the person you care for. You can seek access to emergency respite care, where it is available at short notice by calling 1800 422 737 and select option 1, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If something happens to the person you care for

1. Have an emergency care plan

An emergency care plan can also help the person you care for, if they need emergency medical care or to go into hospital. You can give the plan to medical or hospital staff to make sure they have all the information they need.

2. Call for help if they are hurt or in danger

If the person you care for needs urgent care, call emergency services on triple zero (000).

3. Call for help if they need mental health care

If the person you care for has a mental health crisis, you can call someone to help in your state or territory