In case of emergency

In case of a life-threatening emergency: call 112.

This number is available 24 hours a day and will give you access to all emergency services: ambulance, police and fire brigade. In a medical emergency, you will also be instructed what to do until the ambulance arrives.

For other, non-life-threatening, medical emergencies during office hours, first call your GP. You can call your GP between 8 o'clock in the morning and 5 o'clock in the afternoon on weekdays.

The GP practice will have a separate emergency number or a voice response system that will give you immediate access to your care provider. You will usually speak to the GP assistant first, and then the GP if necessary. For urgent matters, the GP will visit you at home immediately if necessary. If you need to go to hospital, the GP will call the ambulance and the specialist at the hospital who will take over your medical care.

When the GP practice is closed, you can call the out-of-hours service for medical emergencies. This means: on weekdays between 5 o'clock in the afternoon and 8 o'clock in the morning and on weekend days and public holidays. The out-of-hours service (huisartsen-spoedpost in Dutch) is a central office where GPs are available on call.

If you call your GP's practice out of hours, their answering machine will tell you (often in Dutch) which phone numbers you can call for GP-care and in case of emergencies. You can also usually find the number for the out-of-hours service on your GP practice's website.

When you call the out-of-hours service, you will speak to a specially trained GP assistant. The assistant will ask you your name, date of birth and health insurance details, after which you explain what the problem is. The assistant will ask you questions to determine how serious your situation is.

Sometimes discussing your problem with the assistant and getting advice is enough. Sometimes the GP on duty will need to call you back. In other cases, you will make an appointment to see a GP at the out-of-hours service. It may also be necessary for the GP to visit you at home.

This subtitled video will tell you more about the out-of-hours service.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, contact your general practitioner (GP) or the out-of-hours service (huisartsen-spoedpost) immediately. If necessary, the GP can contact the local Crisis Intervention Team (available 24/7).

If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, you can also call 0800-0113 or 113, an anonymous helpline.