Medical Emergencies and Urgent Care in the Netherlands

Call 112 immediately when life, breathing, circulation or immediate safety may be at risk. Examples include unconsciousness or abnormal breathing, signs of stroke, persistent crushing chest pain, severe breathing difficulty or anaphylaxis, uncontrolled major bleeding, a prolonged or repeated seizure, serious poisoning, a major accident, an obstetric emergency, or an immediate risk that someone will seriously harm themselves or another person. Do not drive a critically ill or badly injured person yourself. Put the phone on speaker, state that you need an ambulance, give the exact address or landmark and follow the call-taker's instructions.

For stroke, use FAST: ask the person to smile, raise both arms and repeat a simple sentence. A drooping face, weak arm or slurred speech means 112 now; note when the symptoms started. For severe bleeding, press firmly on the wound with clean material and keep pressure on. Do not remove an embedded object. For an allergic reaction with an available prescribed adrenaline auto-injector, use it as trained and still call 112. For seizure, protect the head, clear nearby hazards and time it; do not restrain the person or put anything in their mouth.

If someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call 112, use speaker mode and start chest compressions as the dispatcher directs. Send another person for an AED. Expose and dry the chest, attach the pads as shown, follow the device's voice prompts, make sure nobody touches the person during analysis and resume compressions immediately after a shock or “no shock” instruction. Continue until professional help takes over or the dispatcher tells you to stop. Dispatcher-guided compressions are appropriate even when you have no formal training.

Tell 112 about hazards such as fire, electricity, traffic, violence, gas or chemicals; do not create a second casualty. Unlock the entrance, restrain pets and send someone to meet the ambulance when safe. Gather medicines, allergies, medical conditions, identity and insurance details only if this does not delay first aid. In the European Union, 112 is the emergency number. A voice call can be made without phone credit and generally without a valid SIM, but location and connection are never guaranteed: say where you are clearly and do not hang up until instructed.

Use the route that matches urgency. During normal weekday opening hours - commonly around 08:00–17:00 - call your own huisarts for a problem that needs assessment today but is not immediately life-threatening. Outside those hours, call the regional huisartsen-spoedpost. Find its current number through your GP's website or answerphone and save it before you need it. The post starts with telephone triage: it may give self-care advice, book a consultation, arrange a home visit, send an ambulance, involve a crisis service or direct you to hospital. It is not a walk-in service, and not every hospital has the post you should use.

Call 112 instead when delay could threaten life or cause serious harm. Severe injury may go directly by ambulance or according to the dispatcher's instruction. For urgent illness that is not life-threatening, do not independently travel to a hospital emergency department: call the GP or GP post first. The official route explains that the post decides whether hospital emergency care is required. Bring identity, medicine list, allergies and insurance information when feasible, but paperwork must never delay a 112 call.

Use the specialist emergency number provided by your own maternity team for labour, bleeding, reduced fetal movement or pregnancy concerns; call 112 for collapse, massive bleeding, severe breathing trouble, seizure or another immediate threat. For urgent dental pain, trauma or swelling, call your dentist's recorded out-of-hours service; facial swelling with breathing or swallowing difficulty is 112. Sudden sight loss, chemical eye exposure or penetrating eye injury needs urgent professional triage; rinse chemical exposure continuously with lukewarm water while calling. After sexual assault, immediate danger is 112. Otherwise seek urgent medical and forensic advice without washing or changing clothes if evidence collection may matter; your choice and safety come first.

If you are unsure, call rather than waiting for a website diagnosis. The triagist will ask what happened, symptoms, age, location, medicines, medical history and how quickly things changed. Answer directly and mention pregnancy, anticoagulants, immune suppression, very young or old age, or recent surgery. Repeat back the plan, the time limit and the exact red flags for calling again. If the person deteriorates while waiting, call the service back or 112 immediately.

Prepare information without delaying care. Give your exact address, postcode, floor, access code and a landmark; when outdoors, share a map pin or coordinates as well as a spoken description. State the callback number and whether the patient is conscious and breathing normally. Summarise the main symptom, when it began, how quickly it changed and what makes it worse. Mention age, pregnancy, recent birth or surgery, major conditions, allergies, anticoagulants, insulin, immune suppression, implanted devices and all medicines or substances taken.

Use a short timeline: “pain began at 14:10, collapsed at 14:25, one adrenaline injector at 14:27.” For poisoning, retain the container and estimate product, concentration, amount, route and time; include body weight and symptoms. For mental-health danger, disclose plan, means, substances, weapons and who is present. For injury, describe mechanism, height, speed, bleeding and loss of consciousness. Do not minimise symptoms to avoid inconvenience or exaggerate them to obtain an ambulance. Triage changes when the facts change, so call back immediately if breathing, consciousness, pain, weakness, bleeding or behaviour worsens.

Keep identity document, insurance card or policy details, medicine list, emergency contacts and advance-care information accessible. Add your GP's daytime and out-of-hours numbers to the phone. Record the maternity unit, dentist emergency service and insurer assistance number where relevant. Check the GP answerphone/site after moving; a post serving a former address may be wrong. Do not rely on an unverified generic “nearest emergency post” listing.

If you do not speak Dutch well, say your preferred language at the start and ask the provider for a professional interpreter when clinically necessary. A relative may help with simple facts, but children should not carry responsibility for sensitive or complex interpretation. Tell staff about hearing, speech, visual, cognitive, mobility or sensory needs and request accessible communication, a support person or another reasonable adjustment. Bring communication aids, charging cable and written essential information when possible.

For difficulty hearing or speaking, the official 112NL app can support contact and language assistance, but install and configure it before an emergency. Tolkcontact also supports written emergency contact; sign-language interpreter availability has stated hours, so do not assume video interpretation is always present. Registered e-SMS requires sending aanmelden to 112 and then replying aanmelden akkoord in advance; compatible Android devices may share precise location. Apps, data, battery and location services can fail. If any method does not connect and danger is immediate, try a normal 112 voice call, another phone or a nearby person. Always communicate the location in words.

First make the scene safe. Look for traffic, electricity, fire, smoke, gas, chemicals, water, unstable structures or violence. Call 112 before approaching when a hazard remains. Put the phone on speaker and follow the dispatcher; their instructions take priority over a checklist. State the exact location, what happened, number of patients, consciousness and breathing. Send a bystander to guide responders, unlock doors and fetch an AED or first-aid kit without leaving a critically ill person alone.

Check responsiveness and normal breathing. If the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, start dispatcher-guided chest compressions immediately. Press hard and fast in the centre of the chest and minimise pauses. Attach an AED as soon as it arrives and follow every voice prompt. If the person is unconscious but breathing normally, place them in the recovery position when safe, monitor continuously and protect the airway. Abnormal gasping is not normal breathing.

For major external bleeding, expose the injury and apply firm, continuous direct pressure with gauze or clean cloth. Add material on top if blood soaks through; do not repeatedly lift it to inspect. Do not pull out an embedded object - press around it. For burns, stop the source and cool with gently running lukewarm water for about 20 minutes where practical; remove jewellery and loose clothing, not material stuck to skin. Do not use ice, butter or creams. Cover loosely after cooling and seek urgent advice for large, deep, electrical, chemical, airway, face, hand, joint or genital burns.

During a seizure, time it, cushion the head and move hazards. Do not restrain the person, force the jaw or put objects, food or drink in the mouth. Call 112 for a first seizure, five minutes or longer, repeated seizures without recovery, injury, breathing difficulty, pregnancy, water involvement or another serious concern. For choking in a conscious adult, encourage coughing; if ineffective, follow current dispatcher or first-aid guidance and call 112. Do not perform blind finger sweeps.

Keep the person warm, still and reassured. Do not give food, drink or routine medication to someone who may need urgent treatment, has impaired consciousness or could require anaesthesia. Record symptom onset, treatments, AED shocks, medicines and allergies for responders. Use gloves or a barrier when available, but do not delay life-saving pressure or compressions. A first-aid course from a recognised provider is worthwhile; in an actual emergency, immediate 112 guidance is the safest bridge until trained help arrives.

For an immediate suicide attempt, severe self-injury, dangerous psychosis, violence, or a person who cannot be kept safely from harming themselves or others, call 112. Move away from weapons, traffic, heights, medicines or other hazards only when you can do so safely. Stay with the person, speak calmly and do not argue about delusions or promise secrecy. Tell the dispatcher what has happened, whether substances or weapons are involved and where everyone is. Your safety also matters; leave and call from a safe place if necessary.

Without immediate danger, call the person's GP during opening hours or the regional GP emergency post outside them. They can assess urgency and contact the 24/7 mental-health crisis service when needed; the public generally does not self-refer directly to that team. For suicidal thoughts or support, 113 Suicide Prevention is available day and night by calling 113 or freephone 0800-0113 and through chat at 113.nl. It provides confidential support, but it is not an ambulance and does not replace 112 or a clinical crisis assessment when danger is immediate. Ask directly about intent, plan, means and timing; listening does not create suicidal thoughts.

For suspected poisoning or overdose with severe symptoms, breathing difficulty, collapse, seizure, marked drowsiness, corrosive exposure or an intentional dangerous dose, call 112. Otherwise call the GP or GP post urgently. The National Poisons Information Centre, NVIC, advises healthcare professionals; its telephone line and professional database are not a public poison helpline. Keep the package, label, medicine strip or photo and report product, strength, possible amount, time, person's age and weight, symptoms and any first aid. Do not induce vomiting, give food, drink, charcoal or a home remedy unless a clinician directs it.

For a chemical in the eye, remove contact lenses if easy and rinse continuously with lukewarm running water while seeking urgent advice. For skin exposure, remove contaminated clothing and rinse without spreading the chemical. For fumes or suspected carbon monoxide, do not enter or remain in the contaminated space: move to fresh air if safe and call 112; warn others and the fire service. Do not rely on smell for carbon monoxide.

After the immediate episode, secure remaining medicines or chemicals without leaving the person alone, arrange responsible supervision and make a written safety plan: warning signs, people to call, safe locations and removal of means. Confirm follow-up with the GP or mental-health provider. If symptoms change, consciousness falls or the safety plan fails, escalate to 112 immediately.

Calling 112 is free. For someone with Dutch basic health insurance, the professional care delivered by a GP or huisartsen-spoedpost is covered and does not use the compulsory deductible. However, medicines, laboratory work, imaging, ambulance transport and specialist or hospital emergency care can use the deductible. In 2026 the compulsory deductible for an insured adult is €385; a voluntarily increased deductible can make the personal exposure as high as €885. Children under 18 have no compulsory deductible.

Ambulance transport and hospital emergency care are in the basic package when coverage conditions are met and normally count toward the deductible. The government package table shows no separate statutory co-payment for ambulance transport. That does not mean every non-urgent, self-chosen trip or provider is automatically reimbursed. For a non-life-threatening problem, first call the GP or GP post: going to hospital without medical necessity or referral can leave you paying the bill yourself. Never let cost questions delay 112 in a life-threatening emergency.

The GP consultation exemption does not extend to everything ordered by the GP. Prescribed medicines and external tests can be charged against the deductible, and some medicines have a statutory contribution; the 2026 medicine contribution is capped at €250. Dental emergency care for most adults is usually outside basic cover except limited categories, so ask the service for the consultation, radiograph and treatment prices and check supplementary insurance. Contracted-provider rules can affect reimbursement, although emergency necessity must still be handled safely.

Visitors should present an EHIC where valid for medically necessary state-provided care, or contact travel/private insurance. Providers may require payment or invoice directly; retain an itemised bill, medical report, referral and proof of payment. An EHIC is not travel insurance and does not generally cover private care or planned treatment. Confirm repatriation and excess separately.

If you are uninsured, necessary assessment should not be postponed merely to search for paperwork, but care is not universally free. The Dutch government states that an uninsured patient must pay medical costs themselves, including costs incurred before insurance begins. Ask the provider's billing office about an estimate, instalment plan and any scheme that actually fits your residence status; contact the CAK about an insurance obligation or uninsured notice. Do not assume a provider compensation scheme erases your debt.

After care, match every invoice to the date, provider and service; compare the insurer's explanation of benefits with the policy and deductible already used. Ask the provider to correct coding or identity errors. Challenge coverage through the insurer's written complaint process and then SKGZ where eligible. Keep clinical complaints separate from billing disputes, and seek urgent care again if symptoms return regardless of an unresolved invoice.

Before leaving a GP post, ambulance handover or hospital, ask for a plain-language summary of the working diagnosis, treatment given and what remains uncertain. Obtain a current medication list that states what to start, stop or change, the dose, duration and interaction warnings. Reconcile it against medicines already at home; do not silently resume something that was stopped. Ask who now owns follow-up - the GP, hospital specialist, midwife or another provider - and the exact appointment or test deadline. A referral alone is not an appointment.

Get written red flags and a route for each: which symptoms mean 112, which mean the GP post tonight, and which can wait for your GP. Confirm wound care, food and fluids, activity limits, infection precautions, equipment and whether someone should stay with you. Ask when it is safe to drive, cycle, fly, work or care for children, and arrange transport rather than driving after sedation, serious injury or medicines that impair alertness. Dutch employers generally do not require a doctor's “sick note”; report sickness under the employer's procedure and discuss functional limitations with the occupational physician, not detailed diagnosis with a manager.

Check the patient portal and GP record after the encounter. Save discharge letters, test results, prescription changes, ambulance details and receipts. If a result is pending, record who will communicate it and by what date; chase it if nothing arrives. Call the pharmacy promptly about unavailable medicines or contradictory instructions. When language or disability affected communication, ask for the discharge plan in an accessible form and request a professional interpreter or reasonable adjustment for follow-up.

For billing, request an itemised invoice and explanation of whether it was GP, hospital, ambulance, medicine or laboratory care. Send foreign-insurance or travel-insurance claims with the medical report and proof of payment. Challenge a clinical-quality concern first through the provider's complaints officer. Dispute coverage or reimbursement with the insurer, then use the insurer's complaint route and SKGZ where applicable. A serious safety signal can be reported to the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate, but that route does not itself award compensation.

Within 24–72 hours, compare actual symptoms with the discharge instructions and update the GP if worse or unclear. Keep a one-page timeline of calls, advice, arrival and discharge times, medicines and names. At follow-up, ask what caused the event, recurrence risk, prevention, rehabilitation and who to contact after hours. Never let a billing or complaint process delay renewed emergency care.