What to do in the 10 minutes before the ambulance arrives

Stay on the line

The dispatcher is not filling in a form. They are matching a vehicle and a crew to the patient's condition, and they can talk you through what to do while the ambulance is moving.

Give the pin code and a landmark early. In most Indian cities a landmark reaches the driver faster than an address does, and the pin code lets the dispatch system position the right vehicle.

Make the last 200 metres easy

• —Send someone to the gate, the lane mouth or the main road to flag the ambulance down.
• —Unlock the door and switch on the stair and corridor lights.
• —Clear the path between the door and the patient — move furniture, footwear and anything on the stairs.
• —Hold the lift on your floor if there is one, and tell the security desk an ambulance is coming.

Gather what the hospital will ask for

• —Current medicines, or photographs of the strips and boxes.
• —Recent discharge summaries, prescriptions and test reports.
• —Any known allergies, and existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or a cardiac history.
• —An ID and insurance card if you have one to hand.
• —The time the symptoms started — for stroke and cardiac cases this single detail changes the treatment options.

What not to do

• —Do not move someone after a fall, a road accident or any suspected spinal injury unless they are in immediate danger where they lie.
• —Do not give food, water or medication to someone who is drowsy, confused or struggling to breathe.
• —Do not drive a critically ill patient yourself if an ambulance is already on the way — a moving ambulance can begin treatment, a private car cannot.
• —Do not keep the phone engaged. The crew may need to call for directions.

If the patient stops breathing

Tell the dispatcher immediately. If you are trained in CPR, begin chest compressions; if you are not, the dispatcher can guide you through it over the phone until the crew arrives.

While the ambulance is en route

You will receive a live tracking link so you can see where the vehicle is instead of calling the desk for updates. If the patient's condition changes before it arrives, call back — the crew can be briefed en route, and the destination hospital can be changed if a different facility is now the better choice.