Emergencies, Accidents And Hospital Trips
Emergency Services Number 112
Operators do speak English
In The Event Of An Emergency On The Slopes
Contact a lift operator or worker if at all possible or ask another skier to do it for you.
If possible try to wait at the edge of the slope so that you are not in the way of other skiers and plant your skis in the snow so that they stick up in a cross formation so that emergency workers can easily find you.
Don’t be afraid to approach people to ask for help, most Finns understand English and will be happy to help.
The ski slope medic can be contacted on 00358 (0) 40 860 8888
Going To Hospital
The local hospital is in Kuusamo town centre, a 20 minute drive.
Address:
Raistakantie 1,
93600 Kuusamo
Tel. +358 (0) 40 860 8611
Unless you are taken off in an ambulance it is advisable to phone the hospital before departing to make an appointment. This even goes for broken limbs. It may be difficult to understand for us, but the local hospital’s xray department closes around 4pm and won’t open until the next day. It is not uncommon for them to tell people to have a paracetamol and come in the next day. Just turning up at the hospital does not change anything, they will simply send you home again.
When calling the hospital it may be better to ask someone from the information centre or hotel reception to make the call for you – it is especially difficult for the receptionists to understand English over the telephone when people are worried, stressed and speaking quickly.
For A Hospital Visit You Will Need:
- European Health Insurance Card
- Passport
- Insurance Information and policy number
- Cash – a visit to the hospital costs around €20 (admin fee payable in cash only, not covered by insurance)
- Money for the taxi – around €40 each way. Make sure you ask the driver for a receipt. most taxis will take major credit cards.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Unless it is an emergency I would always recommend phoning your insurance company before taking any action – and by that I mean before even booking the taxi to go to the hospital. You will probably find that it is in your small print somewhere that you must contact them before doing anything else. Even if it isn’t, having worked in the travel industry for a number of years, I would advise you to do it anyway. You can never be too cautious where insurance companies are concerned, that is my moto.
Taxi Numbers
Ruka Taxis – 00358 (0)8681 222
Taxi Kuusamo Ruka – 00358 (0) 100 84200
Hi, I'm Heather and this is my blog and travel guide to Ruka and Kuusamo, Lapland
