What is a medical emergency?
A medical emergency is the sudden, unexpected onset of a health condition that needs immediate medical or surgical treatment. If this treatment is not provided the person’s life would be at risk or result in serious impairment or dysfunction of an organ or body part. You should contact us within 12 hours of your emergency admission to get the necessary authorisation.
The main reasons for an emergency admission in a non-network hospital is to ensure that a member's airway (breathing) and circulation (blood flow) is not compromised or at risk of becoming compromised. This may be a result of:
- Trauma with severe blood loss
- Heart Attack
- Coma
- Respiratory failure (asthma attack or severe pneumonia)
- Stroke
- Shock (from severe infection or loss of blood or fluid)