A&E or 999

Accident and Emergency

For life threatening conditions, call 999 – Accident & Emergency (A&E).

Emergency services are very busy. You should only attend Emergency Departments if you are very badly hurt or if you become very seriously ill (life threatening). This would include:

  • life threatening choking
  • chest pain
  • blacking out
  • severe blood loss
  • severe breathing difficulty

Where to go

The Oxford University Hospitals  NHS Foundation Trust  (OUH) has emergency departments at:

  • The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford
  • The Horton General Hospital in Banbury

Both are open 24 hours a day.

The John Radcliffe Hospital also has a dedicated Children's Emergency Department.  The Children's Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day.

For information about visiting A&E see http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/services/departments/acute-emergency/emergency-department/default.aspx#visit

Other hospitals close to Oxfordshire with Emergency Departments include the Royal Berkhire Hospital in Reading and the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

South Central Ambulance Service

  • Providing an emergency response – South Central Ambulance Service’s (SCAS) main purpose is to respond to emergency 999 calls, getting medical help to patients who have serious or life-threatening injuries or illnesses as quickly as possible.
  • Responding to less serious calls – A large proportion of patients, however, do not have serious or life-threatening conditions. And they don’t need to be sent an ambulance or blue lights and sirens. Often they can receive more appropriate care (see Choose the right service)  or health advice (via NHS111) somewhere other than at hospital.
  • Non-Emergency Transport Service

The Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) provides pre-arranged transportation for eligible patients to and from their hospital appointments and often between healthcare settings, such as one hospital to another.  The PTS is for people who are unable to use public or other transport due to their medical condition and includes those who are:

  • attending hospital outpatient clinics
  • being admitted to or discharged from hospital wards
  • needing life-saving treatments such as radiotherapy,chemotherapy or renal dialysis or DVT treatment

If you believe you are eligible visit http://www.scas.nhs.uk/our-services/non-emergency-patient-transport-service/