The second Saturday of September every year is the World First Aid Day, which aims to publicize and popularize the knowledge and skills of emergency rescue and improve the public’s self-help ability. This year is the 24th World First Aid Day. Let’s talk about what we should call "120" and what we should pay attention to.

   What situations do you need to call 120?

    What would you do if we suddenly suffered an accidental injury or a friend around us suddenly fainted? You may answer, call "120" emergency number. This answer is not entirely correct. The 120 hotline, also known as the "life hotline", is like a life-saving straw. Behind every emergency call, there is a life that needs help. But what needs to be understood is that not all unexpected situations need to call 120, and the "life hotline" should be left to those who really need emergency assistance.

    So, what circumstances need to call 120 emergency number? If you are outside the hospital, such as at home, in public places, or in the wild, once you have a sudden critical illness such as heart disease and stroke; Serious injuries caused by car accidents and accidental injuries; Fire, drowning, electric shock, poisoning, trampling and other sudden disasters; When there are major problems in life and health due to various unexpected factors, you should immediately call 120 for help.

   What are the symptoms of sudden critical illness?

    Let’s talk in detail about what symptoms may be sudden critical illness. If you encounter the following situations, don’t hesitate to call 120 for first aid immediately.

    1. If sudden severe chest pain, palpitation, dyspnea, fainting, accompanied by sweating and other symptoms, you should suspect a heart attack.

    2. In case of sudden hemiplegia, skewed mouth, confusion, difficulty in speaking or understanding, difficulty in seeing things with one eye or both eyes, severe headache, syncope, etc., you need to be alert to cerebrovascular accidents.

    3. The patient is pale, sweating profusely, with a fast but weak pulse and decreased blood pressure, which may be shock or collapse.

    4. A large number of hemoptysis or hematemesis also indicate that a critical illness may suddenly occur.

   What details should I pay attention to when dialing 120?

    The "120" emergency call is the first signal and premise to start rescuing critical patients. Invalid calls will seriously affect the normal work of the command center, delay the rescue time and waste emergency resources. In the process of making a phone call, you should also pay attention to the following six points to avoid delaying the treatment time.

    1. When dialing 120, you should try to stay calm, don’t panic, and speak clearly and concisely.

    2. Make clear the patient’s symptoms or injuries, so as to send a car accurately, and also make clear the site location, waiting place and contact telephone number that can be connected, so as to facilitate contact.

    3. After dialing 120, you can arrange people to wait for the bus at the intersection or next to obvious signs, and wave when you see the ambulance, so as to save time.

    4. If people from other places in Beijing are not familiar with their location, they should ask local people for help or call for help on their behalf.

    5. If you are at the junction of two counties and cities, the mobile phone signal is prone to drift, which can be avoided by using a fixed telephone. If there is no condition, you can also ask the emergency center where the signal drift is received to call for help.

    6. When dialing 120 on the expressway, it is necessary to explain the direction and general orientation. There is a kilometer sign on the shoulder, and the expressway code and kilometers should be clearly stated.

    It should be noted that dialing 120 is generally not allowed to specify a hospital. The 120 Command and Dispatch Center uniformly allocates the city’s emergency resources, and handles emergency patients in different levels and districts. First, hospitals are allocated according to the principles of being nearby, being urgent and professional, so as to ensure that patients can be treated quickly.

    In addition, it should be understood that there is a charge for calling an ambulance, which generally includes two parts: ambulance fee and pre-hospital first aid fee. Of course, these fees are uniformly stipulated by local provinces and cities, and all fees are based on standards. You don’t have to worry about the inflated fees.

    Text/Liu Jian (Peking University People’s Hospital)