Our department is fully equipped and fully staffed to deliver an accurate diagnosis for initial care and monitoring for all patients, no matter how serious the emergency. We also have a resuscitation room and a plaster room as well as several treatment and consultation rooms.
Our department
Eight senior doctors work alongside a team of highly-experienced nurses to ensure the emergency department runs smoothly and efficiently. A key role is played by the triage nurse who is the first point of contact for patients arriving at the emergency department. He or she is responsible for determining the nature and severity of cases while collecting basic information, such as:
- name and personal details
- medical condition and obvious injuries
- level of urgency
Patients are then seated in a waiting area before being examined and treated in a private cubicle. Seventy percent of patients, notwithstanding those who require immediate medical attention, are seen by our emergency department within 30 minutes. At the start of 2006, we introduced an IT system to manage the cubicles within the emergency unit in order to optimise resources and improve efficiency. This system is also a valuable statistical tool.
Our telemedicine service
Feeling feverish ? Do you have persistent back pain? Do you need a diagnosis and a prescription quickly, without having to travel? It's now possible !
The Hôpital de La Tour has a telemedicine platform that enables it to treat around 30 symptoms using experienced doctors practicing in Switzerland. So you can be treated from the comfort of your own home, without waiting and at a lower cost ! At the end of your assessment, the platform will suggest either a remote consultation, a visit to your doctor's, or a visit to our emergency department if your case requires a physical consultation. Among its options, it also provides expert guidance to people who fear they may have contracted the new coronavirus, and monitors the quarantine of patients who have passed through its triage center.
How does it work ?
1) Go on latour.ch/urgences and answer the medical questions that will guide you in an emergency.
2) If your case does not require a physical consultation, a doctor will send you a diagnosis within the hour, with a prescription if necessary.
3) You can visit the pharmacy of your choice with your electronically received prescription.
4) A doctor will be in touch with you within a few days, and your consultation will be reimbursed by basic health insurance.
What's the rate ?
An online consultation with one of the platform's doctors costs CHF 39. This price includes the entire consultation, i.e. all the interactions you have with the doctor during the case, as well as any exchanges with a pharmacist and the provision of a report, which may also be forwarded to your GP. Also included is the processing of the follow-up questionnaire and all answers to your questions during the management of your case.
How I can pay ?
You can choose to pay either by invoice or electronically by credit card or Twint®. Soon you'll also be able to pay by Apple Pay® and Paypal®.
What about health insurance?
The emergency department at Hôpital de La Tour delivers emergency care for all patients with basic health insurance. If a procedure and/or inpatient care is required after initial care, patients who do not have supplemental health insurance are transferred to the Geneva Teaching Hospitals (HUG). This also applies to patients who would like to be treated at a different facility. In most cases, the remaining patients can be treated at Hôpital de La Tour due to the wide range of medical and surgical specialisms practised at our hospital combined with our state-of-the art facilities and capacity to provide inpatient care.