You should call emergency services anytime you feel as though you cannot handle the person with first aid measures alone. There is no non-emergency number to call for an ambulance or the police department (that are answered routinely) so you need to err on the side of safety and call anytime you think the person needs to go to a hospital urgently.
MEDICAL ALERT INFORMATION If you are rendering first aid to someone you don’t know, it is a good idea to look for a medical ID of some kind. This might be a medical alert bracelet, necklace, or sometimes even a tattoo that has important medical information on it. Figure 2 in your guide shows what a medical alert bracelet looks like. The goal of any type of medical identification is that it contains medical information that can be used by the paramedics and doctors so treatment can be appropriate even if the person cannot speak for themselves.
Figure 2: A medical alert bracelet
The key components of the medical alert jewelry include the person’s name, medical conditions, allergies, and emergency contact information. It can contain a list of their medications if this is important information for doctors to have. You might find that the person is diabetic and their unconsciousness could mean that they have low or high blood sugar. This could ultimately help the paramedics you call to care for the person appropriately sooner than they could have without the bracelet. Usually, the person’s address and social security number are not on the jewelry unless the person has dementia (making the address an important thing to know).
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