It’s that dreaded time of winter again. When your mobile rings and the number on the display screen is that of your child’ school you know that the little one has come down with something nasty.
Last week our entire little crew went down fast and we swiftly followed. I am no scientist but my personal theory is that fresh, pure alpine air is great not just for people but for virus and bacteria too. I can almost pictures those rosy-cheeked Swiss winter bugs meeting our puny, grey-skinned city-antibodies, slapping them jovially on the back and toppling them over.
Our German neighbours’ first winter in Geneva was really hard, as both parents and all three children were constantly ill. Our own first winter here wasn’t much better. I was hoping we’d stored a few Swiss antibodies but apparently not enough to combat this winter’s stream of mighty virus.
As I coughed my eyes out and ran around like a crazed Florence Nightingale on speed tending to the three tiddlers, Expat Husband thought it would be the perfect moment to jet off to London for three days for the usual whirlwind of meetings, top-floor nibbles and Caffè Nero espresso (someone’s got to do it he says).
As these things always come in three, our baby-sitter also decided to find another job (was it me? was it her? was it us?) along with our garage door AND hot water pump packing it in for good. It is at times likes this that expat life shows its hardest side, as you have no family around to help and – for better or for worse – it all balances entirely on your shoulders.
However, the silver lining to all this is that emergency health care for children in Geneva is absolutely fantastic. If your child is very sick outside of working hours for the paediatrician you normally see, you can ring these paediatric emergency numbers and they will give you an appointment for the same day (saving you from having to wait for hours in a hospital waiting room with one or more sick children).
These urgent consultations take place at the CLINIQUE GENERALE BEAULIEU and L’HÔPITAL DE LA TOUR every evening from 6pm to 10pm and at weekends from 8am till 10pm.
After 10pm you will need to call paediatric emergencies (SAUP: Service d’Accueil et d’Urgences Pédiatriques) at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG), Hôpital des Enfants, avenue de la Roseraie 45, 1205 Geneva (tel. 022 372 45 55), click here for the website. They do not operate an appointment system but they are very efficient (they’re Swiss after all!) and will usually see your child within one hour.
But this is not all: if the nipper gets ill and you can’t take time off work, the Croix-Rouge Suisse (Swiss Red Cross) will arrange emergency childcare at your house. This service is called Chaperon Rouge (Red Riding Hood!) and can be an absolute lifesaver in emergencies like this.
The numbers to call are:
for Geneva 022 304 04 82
for Canton Vaud 021 340 00 80 (check the website for Vaud at Croix Rouge section Vaudoise)
So wrap up warm and stock up on vitamin C because those pesky winter bugs will be here for quite a while longer!
