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Medical Emergency in French

tim

Moderator
The discussion on what number to dial for a medical emergency on St. Barth inspired me to wonder what one should say to the responders in the event of such a situation. I think I could wing it with my pitiful French, but I'd like to her from French speakers as to what would be the proper phrases to use in such a telephone conversation.

P.S. For those who don't have French skills, I also recommend that you ask someone to write down for you in French the directions to your rental villa. I doubt if one says they're staying in villa "Valentine" that it would have much meaning at 2:00 am to the ambulance drivers.
 
J'ai une urgence une medicale sil vous plait aide que - je suis a ( and then finish with where you are at )

that how I would say it....but I havent checked with my resident expert to confirm it as correct

spelling is probably wrong too....
 
Je suis tombé et je ne peux pas me lever. Champagne gratuit à l'hôtel Le Village Hôtel Saint-Jean.
 
tim said:
The discussion on what number to dial for a medical emergency on St. Barth inspired me to wonder what one should say to the responders in the event of such a situation. I think I could wing it with my pitiful French, but I'd like to her from French speakers as to what would be the proper phrases to use in such a telephone conversation.

P.S. For those who don't have French skills, I also recommend that you ask someone to write down for you in French the directions to your rental villa. I doubt if one says they're staying in villa "Valentine" that it would have much meaning at 2:00 am to the ambulance drivers.

We printed up fridge magnets one year at the beach, listing emergency numbers other than 911 to call...ie, local MD, Fire Dept, Cops, etc. etc...(the 911 operators on the mainland are not as familiar with Fire Island as they could be...)

It dawned on me...Mr. Prepared, who travels with duct tape, zip ties, velcro, etc etc....that I just spent time on the island with my granddaughter....who, if she fell ill, other than scooping her up and driving to the hospital...was uninformed as to how to summon emergency help...

It would be a wonderful idea....for ALL the villa rental agencies, not just WIMCO...to either print stickers for the phones in their villas or somewhere else with precisely this info. When it hits the fan, you don't want to be thumbing thru restaurant/massage pages looking for the info.

AAMAF, SBHOnline could simply make a PDF of same and make it available on the site....no?
 
always remember to just dial number 18 and nothing else, nothing before it like 590 or 690

after dialing 18, I have done this twice since I have been on the island. once because I came upon a motorcyclist that had spun out and was laying in the middle of the road.

on both occasions I was able to speak english and they responded in english. perhaps I was just lucky and happened to call when there was someone on duty that spoke english but I don't think so.

I do know the fire department at the airport has required that the firemen learn english, and most of them speak it well enough to know what you are talking about. didier's brother is a fireman at the airport and rosemond's brother works there also.

I also agree that you should know directions to your villa as well, because giving the name of the villa may be useless and it might cost precious time.
 
If I ever had a medical emergency on the island, I would do my best to get to the hospital as quickly as possible by either driving myself or asking for a ride. I realize at times medical situations dictate that a person should NOT be moved. The island is small. In many cases a person could make it to the hospital in Gustavia sooner than it would take to make a call, have it forwarded to the correct facility, have help dispatched and then have them actually find you.

I was horrified when I read that it took almost 30 minutes for the gendarmes to arrive to assist the woman who was stabbed last year in St. Jean. She ended up dying from her injuries. I don't know if more prompt medical care would have saved her or not, but severe bleeding with delayed medical attention certainly limited her chances for survival. After reading that tragic story, I decided there was no way I would wait for medical help to arrive on the island if somebody could get me to Gustavia more quickly.
 
You are absolutely right, Jeanette. Amy had eye issues on two separate trips last year, and I took her to the hospital where she received prompt and more than satisfactory care. Unless a person just can't be moved, that's the first place to go.

Phil
 
Always provide:

-your name
-your location (important)
-your phone number (equally important)
-the medical situation (short description)


Bonjour, ceci est une urgence médicale

-Mon nom est: "John Smith"
-Je suis à la Villa Romance, Lorient, St Barth (agence WIMCO)
-Mon téléphone est 0590 27 55 55
-Le blessé est un homme, 55 ans, conscient, respire, immobilisé, tombé dans les escaliers, a mal à la jambe droite


The first 3 lines are easy to say. The 4th line depends on the situation and obviously many different scenarios are possible. Always try to pass on the following details: sex, age, conscious?, breathing?, heartbeat?, what happened?

If French does not work for you, English should work as well (most Doctors/ paramedics speak English). You could always start your message with:
-Parlez-vous Anglais?

Note: the operator answering 15, 18 :) , or 112 will always ask the questions above as this is part of their protocol.
 
Jeanette said:
If I ever had a medical emergency on the island, I would do my best to get to the hospital as quickly as possible by either driving myself or asking for a ride. I realize at times medical situations dictate that a person should NOT be moved. The island is small. In many cases a person could make it to the hospital in Gustavia sooner than it would take to make a call, have it forwarded to the correct facility, have help dispatched and then have them actually find you.

A wise note, however one needs to be careful with car or 2-wheeled accidents as the spine might have been hurt (which is very often the case). In this situation, as you said, it's better NOT to move the patient because you could even make more damages. The paramedics will know how to handle the situation, even if you have to wait a little. It really depends on the situation.

Also, IMHO we should all learn basic CPR... but that's another topic all together...
 
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