What to Do While You Wait for an Ambulance

The minutes between calling an ambulance and the crew arriving can feel very long. What you do in that time can make a real difference to the patient. In short: stay on the line, keep the patient safe and still, make it easy for the crew to find you, and gather the information they will ask for.

1. Stay on the line and follow the instructions

When you call, the control room will ask where you are, what has happened, how old the patient is, and whether they are awake and breathing normally. Answer as clearly as you can and do not hang up until you are told to. The person on the line can talk you through first aid, including CPR, until the crew arrives.

Put your phone on speaker if you need your hands free, and keep the line clear afterwards. The crew may call you for directions as they get close.

2. Keep the patient safe

• Do not move them unless staying where they are puts them in danger, for example from fire, traffic or rising water. This matters most after a fall or a road accident, when there may be a neck or back injury.
• If they are not breathing normally, start CPR if you know how, and tell the control room so they can guide you.
• If they are unconscious but breathing, and you do not suspect a neck or back injury, the control room may ask you to place them on their side in the recovery position so their airway stays clear.
• If they are bleeding, press firmly on the wound with a clean cloth and keep pressing.
• Keep them warm and calm. Cover them with a blanket or jacket and keep talking to them.

3. Make it easy for the crew to find you

• Unlock the gate and front door, and switch on the outside lights at night.
• Send someone to the street to wave the crew down. In an estate or complex, ask security to let the ambulance in, or meet the crew at the boom gate.
• Shut pets away in another room so they do not get in the way or get hurt.
• Clear a path to the patient so the crew can bring in a stretcher.

4. Gather what the crew will ask for

Put these in one bag by the door so nobody has to search for them later:

• Any chronic medication the patient takes, or a list of it
• Known allergies and medical conditions
• The medical aid card and the patient’s ID
• The name of their doctor, if they have one

What not to do

• Do not give the patient anything to eat or drink. They may need treatment or surgery, and food or water can make that more dangerous.
• Do not give medicine unless it is their own prescribed medicine for that situation, such as their asthma inhaler, or the control room tells you to.
• Do not leave the patient alone if you can avoid it.

Be ready before it happens

Save the ambulance number in your phone now, and in the phones of anyone who looks after your children or older relatives. Ralmed’s 24-hour number is 0861 725 633, one telephone number for all Ralmed services. Learn more about our ambulance services or save our ambulance number.

Knowing basic first aid makes these minutes far less frightening. Our first aid courses teach CPR, bleeding control and what to do in the first minutes of an emergency, at your workplace or in our Sandton training room.

Frequently asked questions