As kids return to school so do the dreaded lurgies so many of us have avoided over the school holidays.
Head lice, school infections, rashes and impetigo are enough to make your skin crawl just thinking about it.
Sure they are terrible to deal with but probably don’t need a trip to the hospital.
But how can you be sure?
One video call on the My Emergency Dr app allows you to speak to a specialist emergency doctor who can assess your child and tell you whether a visit to the hospital is absolutely necessary.
They can even organise a prescription to be sent to your nearest open pharmacy to be picked up at your earliest convenience.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not.
My Emergency Dr has been running the service since 2016 and they’ve helped thousands of people across Australia.
Normally it’s a paid service, but eligible residents in the Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network catchment area (Eastern and North Eastern Melbourne) using the service after hours can access it for free until May 2019.
My Emergency Dr CEO, Dr Justin Bowra said the app was developed by a group of Australian emergency department doctors as a way to improve access to emergency care and alleviate pressure on public hospital emergency departments.
“When your GP is available, we recommend that you talk to your GP as usual,” Dr Bowra said.
“But this service is there to help with those times when your GP is not available and you’re just not sure if you need to go to the emergency department.”
All doctors on the app are specialist emergency doctors.
Please visit the website to see if your suburb qualifies for the free funded service under the Eastern Melbourne PHN initiative. Fees may apply for other users.. https://www.myemergencydr.com.au/
How to tell if your child needs to go to the emergency ward:
– Is your child floppy?
– Is he or she listless and failing to take an interest in what’s going on around them?
– Is your child pale or mottled in colour?
– Does your child have a weak, feeble cry?
– Is their rash NON-blanching? (i.e. stays the same colour when you press on it with a glass)
– Are they finding it difficult to breathe?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then they need to go to emergency.
But if you’re just not sure, then pick up the phone and get in touch with My Emergency Dr: any time, any day. Their experienced emergency doctors are there when you need them.
