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The community emergency manual, taken to the field of primary health care, establishes clear differences between an emergency and urgency. Many times, whether in clinics, hospitals or family health centers, two cases can occur.
In the first concept, there may be excessive vomiting, a complex injury to a joint or sudden pain in any part of the body, including loss of consciousness or intense pain in the chest area. And of course: anyone who suffers from this type of problem quickly goes to the health center to be treated.
The second concept has to do with minor injuries, such as sprains, back pain, small cuts and burns, as well as a nervous breakdown, kidney or liver colic, high fever, sore throat or ear.
Here, clearly, there is no element that has a vital component. But, like the first term, it also entails that a health professional will have to prioritize an emergency over urgency, that is, one patient will enter a box at the expense of another due to the complexity of the case.
With all this, there is something crucial: understanding the difference between the concepts of "emergency" and "urgency" in medical care. According to what is explained by the Health Area of the Municipal Corporation of La Florida, "this working method of categorizing medical care is applied in all Cesfam of La Florida."
"In La Florida we care about all our neighbors. Therefore, we will always be informing them about the operating mechanisms in terms of primary health, especially in relation to basic things, such as the difference between emergency and urgency," explains José Estay, general secretary of the Municipal Corporation of La Florida.
"It is essential to establish and generate culture and learning and thus, the people of Florida will know how to live together in common spaces when it comes to having a health problem, understanding that there are more serious cases than others," says Estay.
What events are considered emergencies?
Certainly, these cases require immediate treatment, since they intrinsically carry a high probability of risk of losing life.
In turn, bronchitis, headache and dizziness are some of the ailments or symptoms that are part of the health "emergency". Such a condition occurs suddenly without risk of life and may require medical assistance within a reasonable period of time, that is, within 2 or 3 hours.
