What happens when you call the Poisons Centre?
Your call to the Poisons Centre will be answered by a pharmacist or
medical scientist who is a "Specialist in Poisons Information" (SPI). All
SPI's have extra training in poisons information.
So that we can be sure all callers receive the best possible advice, we will need to ask some questions. These will include:
- what happened
- when it occurred
- name of the products involved
- any symptoms so far
- the name and age of the patient
- any medical history
- your location.
The SPI will then look up poisoning
references, decide the risk in your particular case, and tell you what to
do next. In most cases accidental poisonings can be watched at home. You
will be advised what to look for and what to do if symptoms develop.
Sometimes a caller is referred immediately to hospital or the GP. If we
think it is needed, we can organise an ambulance for you.
As well as taking calls the Poisons Centre helps to identify poisoning
trends and products causing poisonings in the community. The Poisons
Centre will then alert the appropriate authorities and work with them to
reduce the risk to the community.
Every call to the Poisons Centre is reviewed by another SPI within 24
hours. This means 2 people are listening to every poisoning case to
make sure you receive the best advice. In some cases we may need to
follow up a call to make sure you get the best care. This is why we
will ask for your name, phone number and post code. All personal
information gathered by the Poisons Centre becomes part of a medical
record which is kept confidential.
Call the Poisons Centre on 131126 for all poisoning concerns or medication errors.