At the Doctor and in an Emergency

This is vocabulary you want in place before you need it. It divides into the routine appointment and the emergency, and the language is very different.

Where to go

Choosing the wrong place wastes hours, and the words are not obvious:

Where	For what
pharmacy / chemist	minor things — a cold, a rash, advice, over-the-counter medicine
GP (general practitioner)	your regular doctor, non-urgent problems, prescriptions
walk-in centre / urgent care	needs seeing today, but not life-threatening
A&E (UK) / the ER (US)	serious or life-threatening only

In Britain a pharmacist will give real advice for free and without an appointment — a much faster first stop than most visitors expect.

Booking an appointment

• I'd like to make an appointment, please.
• Is there anything available today?
• It's fairly urgent.
• I'm registered with Dr Nowak.
• Could I have a later one?
• I'm not registered — I'm a visitor. Can I still be seen?

If you're abroad, have these ready: I have travel insurance. · Do I need to pay up front? · Could I have a receipt for my insurance?

The appointment itself

The doctor's opening is almost always one of these:

What seems to be the problem? / What brings you in today? / How can I help?

Answer with the pattern, not a full story:

I've had a sore throat for three days and now I've got a temperature.

Then expect:

• How long have you had it?
• Does it hurt when you swallow?
• Are you taking any medication?
• Are you allergic to anything?
• Any other symptoms?

Answer the question asked. English-speaking consultations are short and structured; a long narrative before the key symptom is common and unhelpful.

Describing how bad it is

Doctors ask about severity directly, and there is a standard way to answer:

• On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain? — About a seven.
• Is it constant or does it come and go?
• Is it getting worse?
• What kind of pain — sharp, dull, burning?
• Does anything make it better or worse?

Speaking for someone else

• It's for my son — he's six.
• She can't explain what's wrong.
• He's been like this since this morning.

What the doctor might say

• I'll examine you. · Take a deep breath.
• It's nothing serious.
• I'll write you a prescription.
• I'm referring you to a specialist.
• Come back if it gets worse.
• Take one twice a day with food.
• Finish the course, even if you feel better. (antibiotics)

If you didn't follow: Sorry, could you write that down? · How many times a day, sorry?

Emergencies

The number differs by country: 999 (UK), 112 (EU), 911 (US).

What the operator asks, in this order:

1. Which service do you need — ambulance, police or fire?
2. What's the address?
3. What's happened?

Answer the address first and clearly if you can — it is the one thing that matters if the call drops.

Useful sentences:

• I need an ambulance.
• Someone has collapsed.
• He's not breathing.
• She's conscious but bleeding.
• There's been an accident.

Also worth knowing: the operator will tell you to stay on the line and may give instructions to follow. Stay with me means don't hang up.

At the hospital

A&E (UK) / the ER (US) = emergency department a stretcher · a ward · a nurse · to be admitted · to be discharged · to be triaged

Prepare three sentences now, in English. Any long-term condition, any medication you take, any allergy. I'm diabetic. I take insulin. I'm allergic to penicillin. These are the sentences you will least be able to construct under stress, and the ones that matter most — worth writing on a card in your wallet.

An emergency call

Operator: Emergency, which service?

Caller: Ambulance, please.

Operator: What's the address?

Caller: Forty-two Bridge Street, flat 3. Forty-two.

Operator: And what's happened?

Caller: My father has collapsed. He's breathing, but he's not conscious.

Operator: Help is on the way. Stay on the line with me.

Service, address repeated, then what happened — in that order, in short sentences.

Test yourself

The quiz below covers both the appointment and the emergency call.