Out of Hours Arrangements
Much of your healthcare will be planned, even though some may be at short notice. Every now and again, nature demands more urgent attention.
Memo
Date: 16th November, 2022
Re: Messaging Paediatricians on WhatsApp
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Dear Parents,
Increasingly high numbers of WhatsApp messages are received by our paediatricians daily. On some occasions, contacting your paediatrician in this way can lead to delayed review for your child if the message is not picked up for some hours during the day while they are busy in the office or hospital.
To continue to deliver high quality and bespoke care for your children, we have decided to review our procedures.
Urgent concerns about your child should be discussed during working hours with the paediatric nurses via the office telephone number (345) 745-7450. Out of hours, one of our paediatricians will always be reached on (345) 326 4370, for which a telephone consultation fee will be chargeable.
Messages received on WhatsApp will be reviewed once daily. Please refrain from sending pictures of your child and their problem unless specifically requested to do so by your paediatrician. This is to ensure the safety of your child.
Many thanks for your understanding.
Within Hours
Between 8am and 5pm, Integra staff are available to assist. With urgent care, it is always important to establish both the degree of urgency and the severity of your healthcare needs, so as to best advise and direct you. We are blessed with a team that have considerable experience in urgent and emergency care, across adults, children and babies.
Within hours, we would urge you to call us on the main clinic number (345) 745 7450. For urgent concerns for children and babies, please ask to speak to one of our paediatric nurses.
Outside Normal Hours
We can provide some immediate guidance on genuinely urgent care needs. This includes ensuring you head to the right place, with the right degree of urgency. We have an extensive knowledge of what is available on island, what it can do, when, and whether it is an appropriate choice for the problems you are facing.Text messages may not been seen (even doctors sleep!) and so we would ask you to consider if it is urgent or can wait until morning. If it is urgent, then please call on the numbers listed below. Please say if you are an existing or new patient to Integra, describing the issue you are contacting us about.
We typically respond in under 2 hours, if before 10pm, and mostly within literally just a few minutes.
Adults…
Please call Dr Francisco Martinez on (345) 939 9539
For babies and children…
Out of hours, one of our paediatricians will always be reached on (345) 326 4370 (for which a telephone consultation fee may be chargeable).
Emergency Care
Besides obvious physical injuries requiring an ambulance, if you are suffering from any of the problems listed below, you are advised to proceed straight to George Town Hospital or dial 911 for emergency services.
- Severe breathing difficulties affecting mobilisation
- Choking
- Heart attack (chest pain, especially where it radiates to neck, arms or jaw, accompanied by sweating profusely, nausea or dry mouth, if you are an active smoker or you are known diabetic)
- Stroke symptoms (sudden speech deficits, sudden weakness of any limb, reduced alertness or consciousness)
- Fractures or injuries with sufficient intensity to cause fractures
- Severe bleeding (rectal, vomiting blood, nasal for patients on warfarin or antiplatelet therapy like aspirin, repeated coughing large amounts of blood or bleeding post tooth extractions)
- Head injury with loss of consciousness, seizures, vomiting, reduced alertness (excessive drowsiness), older than 65 years, patients on warfarin and antiplatelet therapy such as aspirin
- Major trauma: Car/ boat/ jet ski accidents, falls from heights, fights or assaults
- Loss of consciousness of unknown cause
Severe acute abdominal pain that is debilitating