Emergency

Where to get help

Imperial College Occupational Health (OH) is the primary source of advice for staff and students across all campuses. Please follow the protocol outlined in the relevant SOP and risk assessment before contacting OH. Note that it is advisable to telephone for advice before attending, as there may not always be an OH nurse available on site.

Where incidents occur in NHS Trust clinical environments (i.e. not Imperial College laboratories), the NHS Trust Occupational Health team is best placed to assess and manage the exposure during office hours. Outside of these hours, individuals should attend their nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E) department. You can also contact Imperial College Occupational Health during office hours to obtain information about your immunisations if you do not have this information readily available.

For chemical exposures, please follow the decontamination procedure outlined in your risk assessment. If you need to attend A&E, take the safety data sheet (SDS) for the substance with you. If you would like to discuss the exposure, please contact the Safety Department. All accidents must also be reported to the Safety Department.

Emergency support for all campuses

Medical students

If you have a needle stick or sharps injury including blood splashes on to broken skin or into eye nose or mouth, please seek help from the hospital Occupational Health department or outside core hours from A&E. You should also report any exposures via the College online accident reporting system as well as to the Imperial College Occupational Health Service.

Feeling unwell

We are not able to provide medical help or treatment, if you are feeling unwell please seek advice from your GP or you can find further information here.

If you are a student at Imperial College, you are eligible to register with the Imperial College Health Centre which is an independent General Practice. It is accommodated in the College’s premises, but is not part of Imperial College itself. In accordance with normal NHS rules it usually treats only those patients who are registered with it under the NHS.

The College has however negotiated with the Practice for it to provide certain services for members of College staff who are not registered there.

These services include:

• Assessment and treatment of true emergencies due to sudden illness or accidents
• Use of the sick bay during working hours for those who are seriously unwell
• Care of wounds and provision of necessary dressings
• Removal of stitches following injury or operations
• Access to and assessment by our visiting psychiatrist following a referral from Occupational Health

If the surgery is closed and you need urgent medical care you should make an appointment to see your GP or visit the nearest walk in centre Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. 

Alternatively, you can call NHS 111 if you need advice or medical treatment quickly, and you cannot wait for an appointment to see your doctor.

You can ring the free 111 service at any time, day or night.