The pediatric medical guard is accessible through the dedicated telephone number or through the pediatric emergency room. Parents can contact this service to get medical advice, book home visits or be directed to appropriate health facilities.
Sara, 20 months, has fever and ear pain. Unfortunately it is Saturday And the pediatrician clinic is closed. What to do? Wait for the weekend, even if it could serve an antibiotic? Going to the emergency room might seem exaggerated and then on Saturday there is always a great row. To whom to contact?
A situation, like many others, which does not have emergency or urgency characteristics for which it is necessary to call 112 or access in emergency roombut which is not even deferrable: You cannot postpone the medical examination for too long. Precisely for these problems, for taking charge of the pediatric age (0-13 years) outside the visiting hours of the pediatrician, pediatric welfare continuity, ex has been inserted Pediatric medical guard (only the part of the Italian cities is present) which, for convenience, we will continue to call with this name.
There Pediatric medical guard And accessible through the dedicated telephone number or through the pediatric emergency room. Parents can contact This service to obtain advice doctors, reserve visits home or be directed towards appropriate health facilities based on the needs of the boys or girl. The service is usually managed by a team of Specialized pediatric doctors in assistance to children, who are trained to manage a wide range of pediatric medical conditions.
How does the pediatric medical guard works?
The pediatric medical guard deals with the pediatric community when the pediatrician is not in the clinic or is not available. Even if the operation varies according to the Region and the ASL/ATS, there are some common characteristics throughout the territory and, in particular, the medical guard works:
- outside the outpatient times, usually in the night time slot (from 20:00 to 08:00);
- Of Saturday and in the days holidays;
- By contacting the phone number, in a difficult situation, the specialized medical staff will reply.
How does the Medical Guard for children? Once the problem has been exposed, the staff can proceed in various ways: limiting themselves to giving a telephone advice, prescribing drugs for an urgent therapy, convening the patient in the clinic of continuity of care or by sending him to the emergency room. The pediatric medical guard, as a rule, does not make home visits. For specific operation depending on the reference territory, it is good to consult your ASL/ATS to obtain the phone number to contact and more specific information.
Usually, therefore, before going to the clinic in person, it is always advisable Contact the pediatric medical guard by phone to receive an assessment on medical need. Once he contacts, the operator may request:
- The generality of those who call and, possibly, of those who need assistance;
- the type of problem;
- The symptoms.
In this situation it is of fundamental importance keep calm and do not be taken by anxiety to provide the operator of the clear information and avoid wasting time in this initial phase. So as to allow the open to have a complete and realistic picture of the condition of the boy or girl who needs assistance. At the end of this first operation, the operator will decide how to proceed and can put the parent in touch directly with the doctor reference based on the address provided.
At this point, the doctor can limit himself to a telephone consultation Or invite parents to visit at the Pediatric Medical Guard Clinic or even advise to go directly to the hospital. If the situation requests it, the doctor could also activate the emergency service through 112.
When to call the pediatric medical guard?
If you are in the condition, as in the example of the introduction, of having to call the pediatric medical guard, it means that A problem has arisen quite quicklytherefore acute, otherwise Sara’s parents would have waited to contact their pediatrician the following day or when available.
For unwell problems, such as recipes for chronic therapies, prescriptions For diagnostic checks such as blood tests or specialist visits, administration of vaccinations or nursing performance it is good to wait for your own pediatrician both in the clinic and contact him at the scheduled times.
But, therefore, When the pediatric medical guard is needed? The reason for the call to the medical guard, in our example, was the correct analysis by the parents who considered the “non -deferrable” problem: a feverish otalgia, under two years, requires medical examination in a short time. On the other hand, a suspicious otitis does not fall within the “emergencies”: in a weekday, Sara’s parents would have called their pediatrician and would have requested a visit to the clinic and certainly would not have brought it directly to the emergency room.
The pediatric medical guard must therefore be used and called when it is night or it is a holiday and we would like to call our pediatrician for a pediatric health problem that cannot wait for its return to the clinic.
Why is it called the pediatric medical guard?
To conclude, if at night or on holidays A pediatric medical problem arises That makes us worry, it is better to search for online pediatric medical guard or “assistance continuity” and our reference ASL/ATS: a page will appear in which the telephone number, times and specific operating methods will be reported.
We remember some key elements on the pediatric medical guard:
- The pediatric medical guard is accessible via the telephone number dedicated or through the pediatric emergency room. Parents can contact this service to obtain medical advice, book home visits or be directed to appropriate health facilities based on the needs of the child;
- The service is usually managed by a team of specialized pediatric doctors in assistance to children, who are trained to manage a wide range of pediatric medical conditions;
- The pediatric medical guard deals with a variety of medical situations, which can include fever, breathing difficulties, minor trauma, allergic reactions, gastrointestinal disorders and more. Guardian doctors they evaluate patientsestablish preliminary diagnoses and provide appropriate treatments;
- In some cases, when necessary, LPediatric medical guard can organize home visits for boys or girls who cannot be transported to medical clinic due to their condition or for emergency situations;
If the child’s condition requires hospital care, the pediatric medical guard can facilitate Direct transfer to the Pediatric Department of the nearest hospital.
