When you arrive at an emergency department, you are usually asked to take a number and wait for your turn to register and for nurse’s assessment. The queuing system may ask you to check and update your contact details when you take the slip. Checking the details at this point speeds up the service.
Urgent symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, lowered level of consciousness or cerebrovascular symptoms, require immediate attention.
If a patient arriving at the emergency department registration has any of these symptoms, it should be told to the care personnel immediately. In these emergency situations it is best to call 112 instead of trying to make your own way to the emergency department.
Follow Mikko at the emergency department
Mikko takes a number on arrival and sits down to wait in the waiting room. The nurse is serving customer number 107. Mikko’s number is 112. This means there are five patients before the nurse at the registration will assess Mikko. Mikko’s stomach is painful, but he feels he can wait. The emergency department seems busy, but the registration queue is likely to move quickly.