EMERGENCY CARE LETTER

For the emergency team: please read this before treating.

[Practice or clinic name]
[Address]
[Phone]

Written: [Date]
Review by: [Date, no more than 12 months from now]

Patient: [Full name]
Date of birth: [Date]
Weight: [Weight, if doses depend on it, and the date measured]

CONDITION
[Diagnosis and type, named with the patient's agreement]
Other conditions that change emergency care: [None, or each one]

USUAL BASELINE
Vital signs: [Usual blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation on room air]
Blood tests: [Usual values that matter in an emergency, with the date of each]
Function: [What the patient usually manages, and how they communicate]

WHAT USUALLY BRINGS THEM IN
[The emergencies this patient has had, and what tends to trigger them]
Warning signs: [Signs that point to a more serious complication, and what to do]

WHAT TO DO FIRST
[First treatment: drug, dose, route, and how soon]
Then: [What to reassess or repeat, how often, and what to check alongside treatment]

PLEASE AVOID
[Drugs, procedures, or delays that are unsafe for this patient, and why]

MEDICINES AND ALLERGIES
Current medicines: [Each drug, dose, and frequency]
Allergies: [Drug, and the reaction, or none known]

DEVICES AND IMPLANTS
[Each device, where it is, and any limits on access or imaging, or none]

WHO TO CALL
Specialist team: [Service, and daytime phone]
After hours: [24-hour route, such as the specialist on call through the hospital switchboard]
Family physician: [Name and phone]
Emergency contact: [Name and phone, if the patient wants one listed]

This letter shares what we know about [patient name] to help you act quickly. It doesn't replace your own assessment. The patient carries a copy and keeps one on their phone.

[Your name, credentials, specialty]
[License or registration number]
[Signature]