Emergency

When to go to the emergency department?

A general practitioner (your own doctor or from the family doctor's office), ambulance nurse, 112 employee or the X-ray department can only refer you to the emergency room. This can also be done after consultation with your medical specialist. The emergency room is always open.

However, do you come without a referral? Then the costs fall within your deductible. Only if the costs exceed this amount, you will be reimbursed for the remainder. The health insurer does not have to have a contract with the Radboudumc.

Waiting times and order of treatment

At the department you are treated in order of urgency. Patients who need care the fastest, are treated first.

When you come to the department, you are first seen by a specialized (triage) nurse who makes an assessment of your situation. Based on that assessment, we determine who will be helped first. It is therefore possible that someone who arrives later is helped first.

Waiting

In case of crowds, wait times can get long. Waiting times can also increase when people come in who need care with great urgency, for example:

• The team is called in for CPR.
• An ambulance or helicopter brings in a traffic casualty.
• Someone comes in with a heart attack or shortness of breath.

These patients need to be treated immediately. The sooner we get there, the better chance they have of making a good recovery. Through the specialist nurse's assessment, we have a good idea of who is in the waiting room and how long they are waiting. This ensures that you never wait too long for what you came for.

If additional tests are done at the department, such as blood tests or X-rays, you may have to wait for the results. This may also take some time. Your doctor and nurse can give you an indication of how long it will take to get the results.