Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) in Italy: when to go and what to expect

What is the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) and when should you go there?

The Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) is a hospital healthcare service that is open 24 hours a day, dedicated to treating urgent and emergency situations. Its main functions include the initial assessment of patients, stabilization of vital functions when there is a risk to life, and arranging hospital admission or discharge when appropriate.

You should go to the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Rooms) only when there is a situation that could seriously endanger a person’s health or life, and not for problems that can be treated by a family doctor or dealt with without urgency.

Some examples of situations in which you should go to the Emergency Room include:

• difficulty breathing;
• loss of consciousness or prolonged fainting;
• a serious accident or trauma;
• severe bleeding that does not stop;
• very high fever or serious medical conditions, especially in young children, elderly people or vulnerable individuals.

In these situations, you can go directly to a hospital. However, if you are unable to get there on your own, or if the situation is particularly serious, you can call 112, the European single emergency number. An ambulance can be sent to you free of charge as quickly as possible. The 112 emergency number is available in Italian, French and English. If you do not speak any of these languages, you can download the 112 app, which is available in many other languages.

Attention! The Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) is not the right place for every health problem. Going there for non-urgent conditions can divert the attention of medical staff from people in real danger and may result in you waiting for many hours unnecessarily. The Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) is also not the place to ask for prescriptions or medical certificates.

For these situations, contact:

• your family doctor (general practitioner) or pediatrician for children;
• the guardia medica  (out-of-hours medical service) or continuity-of-care service, when your family doctor is not available;
• a pediatrician, for children;
• the healthcare services provided by your Region.

Who can access the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room)?

The Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) is open to everyone: Italian, European and non-European citizens. Even a person who does not have a valid permesso di soggiorno can go to the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) to receive urgent medical care. In these cases, they are generally issued an STP card (Straniero Temporaneamente Presente, or Temporarily Present Foreigner), which allows them to access the healthcare services provided for by law.

When you go to the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room), it is advisable to bring:

• an identity document (passport, identity card or any other available document);
• your tessera sanitaria (health insurance card), if you have one;
• your permesso di soggiorno, if you are a citizen of a country outside the European Union;
• a list of the medicines you take;
• information about any allergies or known medical conditions.

If it is an emergency and you do not have your documents with you, the hospital will still provide the urgent and necessary medical care you need.

What happens when you arrive at the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room)?

When you arrive at the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room), you are not seen according to the order in which you arrived. Instead, patients are treated according to the severity of their condition.

Once you arrive, a healthcare professional will carry out an initial assessment called triage. During triage, they will check:

• your symptoms;
• your vital signs, such as blood pressure and temperature;
• the level of urgency.

You will then be assigned a priority code and will have to wait until healthcare professionals call you for any examinations and tests that are necessary.

There are five priority levels:

• red (emergency);
• orange (non-deferrable emergency);
• blue (deferrable emergency);
• green (minor emergency);
• white (non-emergency).

How much does the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) cost?

Accessing the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) in an emergency is generally free of charge. In some cases, you may be required to pay a healthcare co-payment (ticket), especially when the situation is assessed as non-urgent. The amount and rules may vary depending on the Region.

If you are covered by the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale – SSN (National Hearth Service), you generally pay under the same rules that apply to Italian citizens.

What can you do if you do not speak Italian well?

In hospitals, you can ask for help communicating with healthcare professionals. You can bring someone with you who can help translate, write down the most important information or use translation tools for simple communications. Some healthcare facilities also offer free language and cultural mediation services, so do not hesitate to ask the staff for assistance if you do not speak Italian well.