Information campaign

The correct use of the emergency services

The national information Campaign on The correct use of the emergency services has been carried out by the Ministry of Health and Agenas (Italian National Agency for Regional Healthcare Services) in collaboration with the Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano.
It aims to inform citizens, and in particular young people and foreigners, on what the number 118, the Accident and Emergency Department and the Continuity of Care Service are, how they works and when to use them. Being better informed will allow people to contact the service that best suits their needs, thus helping the smooth functioning of the emergency services.

folder What is number 1-1-8
1-1-8 is the reference number where to call for help in situation of emergency/urgency.
1-1-8 is a free number and is active across the entire national territory, 24 hours a day.
The number 1-1-8 can be called from any telephone (landline or mobile phone). Mobile phones can make calls to the emergency services (118, 112, 113, 115) even when they have no credit. In the case of calls from phone boxes, coins or phone cards are not necessary.   more ...

folder Calling the number 1-1-8
When to call the number 1-1-8? In case of situations where there is a risk to a person’s life or health, such as: difficulty (or lack) of breathing, chest pain, prolonged loss of consciousness (the person cannot speak or is not responding), trauma and wounds with evident bleeding, accident (domestic, road, sporting, agricultural, industrial), difficulty in speaking or difficulty/inability to use one or both limbs on the same side, signs of suffocation, poisoning, drowning or burns.  more ...

folder Waiting for the emergency services
What to do?  Follow the instructions provided by the 1-1-8 staff, cover the patient and protect him/her from the environment, encourage and reassure the patient...
What not to do?  DO NOT panic, DO NOT move the traumatized person unless this is strictly necessary...  more ...

folder The accident and emergency centre
The Accident and Emergency department of a hospital is the only one in which the treatment of medical emergencies is guaranteed, i.e. pathological, spontaneous or traumatic conditions, which require immediate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.  more ...

folder Access to the accident and emergency centre
You can access the Accident and Emergency department directly or by ambulance by calling the number 1-1-8. When arriving at the Accident and Emergency department, there will be the evaluation of the patient’s level of urgency by trained nurses. A colour code will be given to establish the priority of access to treatment on the basis of the seriousness of the case. This does not depend on the arrival time at the hospital  more ...

folder The emergency medical service (or out-of hours medical service)
This is the service which, in the absence of your G.P., guarantees basic medical assistance for situations that cannot be postponed, i.e. in the case of health problems for which you cannot wait for your G.P. or paediatrician’s practice to open. The service is available at night or during bank holidays and days before bank holidays.  more ...