Accident & Emergency

Open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, the accident and emergency services at Valais Hospital take on by definition all the patients who come to them; the only thing these patients have in common is that they do not have an appointment. Our doctors and nursing staff have specific training in the field of accident and emergency medicine and are responsible for receiving and assessing patients, and for their diagnosis, emergency care and referral.

Valais Hospital has accident and emergency services in Sion, and Visp; all are open 24 hours a day.

At the Sierre hospital, the medical-surgical permanence for adults (without appointment) is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday (closed on Saturdays and Sundays and on public holidays).

The emergency department of the Martigny Hospital is open 7 days a week from 08:00 to 18:00.

• For serious cases or if you are in any doubt, immediately call 144.
• In all other cases, local care is offered in each hospital.

• In a life-threatening emergency (loss of consciousness, choking, etc.) requiring immediate medical attention, call 144.
• If the emergency is not life-threatening and occurs during surgery hours, contact your paediatrician.
• Phone: 0900 144 027
  This number can be called 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  The cost of the call is Fr. 0.50 and Fr. 2.- per minute, capped at Fr. 30.50.

If there has been an accident, first secure the site of the accident in order to avoid anyone else getting injured (place a warning triangle on the road, slow down the traffic, move injured persons away from places that are at risk of explosion, etc.).

If the person is unconscious, place him/her in the recovery position. If he/she is not breathing, immediately start resuscitation if you are familiar with this procedure.

If the person is conscious, place him/her in a comfortable position, making sure that nothing will complicate his/her condition.

Before moving an accident victim, ensure that he/she does not have a fractured spine. If you are in any doubt, do not move him/her.

Do not give the casualty anything to eat or drink, or anything to smoke.

If the casualty is bleeding profusely or in bursts, compress the main artery above the wound. If you have not been trained to do this, compress the bleeding area using a clean handkerchief or a clean piece of cloth.
If the person is cold or is at risk of getting cold, cover him/her with a blanket or clothing.

The Haut-Vallais General Practitioner Emergency Centre (HANOW) is located in the Viège [Visp] hospital. Unlike the Viège hospital emergency department, where only doctors at the Haut-Valais Hospital work, this emergency service is run by general practitioners in the region.

Each year, over 5,000 patients are treated there. This is where ‘general practitioner emergencies’ are managed, in other words patients who could be treated in a family doctor/GP practice. The Haut-Vallais General Practitioner Emergency Centre (HANOW) and the hospital emergency department are directly linked. The collaboration between these departments is therefore a permanent one.

The Haut-Vallais General Practitioner Emergency Centre (HANOW) is open every day from 17:30 to 22:00 and at weekends and on public holidays from 09:00 to 22:00.

No appointment is necessary, and patients are seen in order of arrival. Only urgent examinations and treatments are carried out. Subsequent interventions and treatment follow-ups are delegated to the family doctor.