Bonitas Member Magazine Issue 3. 2019 | Page 17

ER24, our Designated Service Provider, aims to ensure every ambulance transfer is medically justified and quality pre-hospital care is provided to you in a medical emergency. These vehicles should not be used as transport to hospital for a minor condition since they will be unavailable to a critically ill or dying person and the ambulance transfer fee for a non-emergency situation, where the person could have travelled in a private vehicle, won’t be considered for payment. Display your ER24 stickers proudly When you join Bonitas, you will receive specially designed ER24 car stickers. Please ensure that these are attached to your vehicle as described in the letter sent with the stickers. As a member of Bonitas you can call ER24 on 084 124 and ask to be put through to the 24-hour ‘Ask the Nurse’ health line if you require medical assistance in deciding whether an ambulance is necessary. You will then be advised to do one of the following: • Go to a hospital immediately (ER24 will dispatch an ambulance if medically necessary) • Go to the doctor • Go to the pharmacy to obtain over-the-counter medication Call an ambulance: Don’t call an ambulance: • For serious injuries such as broken bones or those sustained in motor vehicle accidents which need stabilisation and medical monitoring while you are transported to the appropriate healthcare facility • Where a person is well enough to travel in a car, bus or taxi to see a doctor or go to a hospital as an outpatient for conditions such as minor cuts and sprains, abdominal pain, gastro-enteritis, period pain, constipation and headaches excluding migraine • When someone is having a seizure • • If a person has acute chest pain When the condition is not life-threatening and urgent medical attention is not needed • If someone is unable to breathe • For transport home from the hospital • For a woman in premature labour • For pregnancy without complications • When a child has ingested a poisonous substance • When you or a dependant need to be admitted for a booked procedure • In a near drowning • For third-degree burns • • B-Living Issue 3, 2017 Page Page 16 14