You Now Have a Nurse-On-Call from the Comfort of Your Own Home

It’s 2 am – your baby has had a fever for 4 hours and won’t settle. You’re exhausted, extremely worried and to make matters worse, the doctor is closed! Worrying is unavoidable once you become a parent. This rewarding and sometimes intimidating role brings a responsibility to provide the best we can for our tiny humans. When it comes to our child’s health, sometimes we just don’t have the answers.  

When a child is unwell, we inherently seek the expertise of medical professionals. If it’s late night/early morning when the doctor is closed, most parents would bundle up bub and rush to the hospital to sit in emergency for hours on end, waiting to diagnose the little one’s symptoms.  We all need reassurance that we are doing the right thing for an unwell child. At any time, when your child is unwell and you’re not sure what to do, the first thing you should do if your doctor is closed or before you head to the emergency room is call NURSE-ON-CALL! 

NURSE-ON-CALL immediately connects you to a registered nurse. This free service provides health advice 24/7. The team will diligently assess your situation and advise you to do one of three things: 

1. Recommend ways for you to give care. 

1. Provide details of local or mobile GP services.  

1. Or transfer you onto emergency services in the case of an emergency.   

The benefits of this service are tenfold and because of its convenience, you can have peace of mind, knowing that your child is receiving the best care. 

According to a recent study, 50% of patients in emergency departments don’t require emergency attention. This means 50% of patients waiting in emergency departments could save time and resources by seeking alternate care and advice. Because of our innate concern, parents of children under 4 are the most frequent patients who are presented to emergency departments with non-urgent cases.  

In response to growing emergency department presentations, Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (EMPHN) CEO Robyn Whyte commented on complementary services available. 

“When someone is unwell or caring for a sick person it can sometimes be difficult to know what to do, particularly in the after-hours when their regular GP may be closed.”  

“We are urging the community that if they’re unsure if the situation is an emergency, to contact NURSE-ON-CALL for free and immediate health advice, as well as peace of mind from wherever you are. We need to keep the emergency department for emergencies,” said Whyte. 

With over 5 years’ experience leading primary health organisations, Whyte is confident in the benefits of services such as NURSE-ON-CALL for both the community and hospitals.  

With today’s technology, we rely too much on panic-evoking Dr Google to diagnose symptoms. With NURSE-ON-CALL, you can receive free health advice when you need it most. The immediate access to a registered nurse can allow you to make safer decisions as well as put your mind at ease. 

Another health service available nationally in Australia is the National Health Services Directory. This web directory hosts a search engine which tells you of pharmacies, General Practitioners and other health resources most accessible to you, at the time of searching.  National Health Services Directory also has an app available for free download (healthdirect.app) to point you in the direction of any health service, closest to your immediate location.