Support for minors in a health emergency in Rome

The US embassy would provide consular assistance.

http://italy.usembassy.gov/acs/emergency.html

They do have trip insurance, right? If not, there are many options for getting it. I like InsureMyTrip -- http://www.insuremytrip.com/. Our main reason is in case either or us becomes so sick that we have to go back to the US. That's a very expensive scenario if you don't have insurance.

My Divers Alert Network insurance has coverage that will pay to bring someone to care for a child if something happens to the parent, as well as lots of other nice amenities. Insurance comes with the membership (you don't have to be a diver or on a dive trip to use it) at a really inexpensive price.

Kim,

Laurel would be the best one to answer this question, and hopefully she will spot this Thread.

It sounds like you're taking reasonable precautions by providing your son with a phone, emergency contact numbers, etc. None of us here know your son's maturity level or whatever, so it's difficult to make specific suggestions. Some 15-year-olds could easily handle something like this, others might be totally lost.

Regarding his "phone", you'll have to ensure that......

• it's a model that will work in Europe
• he must check the Charger to ensure it will operate on 220 VAC, but he will still require Plug Adaptors to use in Europe
• if he has a Smartphone (which I'm sure most 15 YO do these days), you'll have to address the issue of data roaming
• if he's using his home number, there will be a charge for any calls or texts he receives
• he will need to review the dialing sequence both for making calls in Europe as well as calls back to North America

Be sure that he has the address and phone numbers for the U.S. Embassy in Rome. One important point to note is that they DON'T allow any cell phones, cameras or other electronic gadgets inside the building, so he'll have to leave those at the hotel if going to the Embassy.

It would probably be a good idea to....

• Provide an alternate hotel choice. The hotel they're both staying at may not have any rooms available after their schedule check-out date.
• Review the transportation options so that he'll be able to get around the city on his own using the Metro or whatever.

I doubt that your husband will be "taken down by a Moped" but I suppose anything is possible. If he has a pre-existing medical condition, that's another concern. You may find it helpful to have a look at IAMAT as that's a good way to get minor medical issues taken care of by English speaking Physicians (for a charge of course).

I'm looking for the question behind the question.

Does the husband have a predisposition for accidents and illnesses? Does the boy have difficulty in some way dealing with adults?

Or are you just somebody who worries a lot?

Millions of people from all over the world who perhaps know less Italian than your son and husband - they are practicing up and taking phrase books, right? - travel to Rome every year and almost all of them leave in the same (but very happy and fulfilled) state they arrived in.

I've never seen anybody mowed down by a moped, although it is certainly true that there are probably nearly half as many Vespas as adults in Rome, and if the worst did happen the Italian urgent care hospitals are excellent.

Is there something else you wanted to ask, Kim?

Everybody forgot the most important piece of information to tell him:

Telephone 112

This is the emergency phone number throughout Europe. All calls to this number are free by law, from any fixed or mobile phone. It is in addition to any national numbers which pre-date 112, for example in Italy: Ambulance – 118.

• Scan in emergency documents (JPEG files) and store them on his phone. If he loses his passport, he can bring up a copy on his phone screen. This has saved me a trip back to the hotel before today.
• Make sure both of them have a copy of the hotel's card with address on it.
• Make sure he has an ATM card with a different number to his fathers (this applies at any age). If his father's card(s) go missing and have to be blocked (or vice-versa), the other persons cards will still be usable.

Finally: Keep calm amd don't panic.

Hi everyone, and thank you all so much for your suggestions. Really, really educational and helpful in practical ways, and also reassuring.

Thank you, Nigel for your perspective about millions of people coming home from their vacations in Rome unscathed. It seems every guidebook we look at talks about the dangers of traffic in Rome. People I know who have been to Rome have told me things like "it's crazy" and "you take your life in your hands" and that vehicle/pedestrian accidents are very common. These reports definitely were the catalyst for my worry about one of them getting hit by something. Perhaps the question is: are these reports exaggerated?

Apart from that, this is about me being a worrier, an inexperienced traveller, and a person who likes to avoid unnecessary muddle where possible. My husband does not have a pre-existing medical condition. Our son is a level-headed, articulate and confident teenager, though also an inexperienced traveller. I just want both of them to have the tools and knowledge for responding to an emergency in advance, and my son more so because of his lesser age and life experience.

With many thanks again,
Kim

Good travel insurance will fly you to their side to assist. I have friends whose father had a heart attack and then subsequently died in China. The travel insurance paid for her to travel to China to assist her mother in this disaster.

A 15 year old is not a toddler so unless your husband has a chronic illness in which suddenly disability is likely, I wouldn't worry about this. If something were to happen, your child could cope until help arrived.

I agree with some of the above commenters. Your son will be fine. In the extremely unlikely event that something were to happen to your husband, it would then be also extremely unlikely that anyone would fail to treat your son with absolute care and consideration until he is back on the plane on his way to you.

I'd work on relaxing and thinking positive, instead of working on contingency plans.

May I ask a follow up question? Why aren't you going?

Hi jtraveler and thanks for your comments. I'm sure you are right that all will be well and I feel better knowing we have good insurance coverage, phone plans, and information about local resources. For me, it's kind of like identifying the fire escape route in my home, and then I can forget about it.

Many factors went into the decision for the guys to go on their own. It's all good :)

Kim

A 15 year old is not a toddler....

Actually post is an interesting topic in terms of age of consent for medical treatment. While the hypothetical tested the incapacitation of the adult of the pair, the bigger question is need for medical treatment of the minor should the adult guardian be incapacitated and unable to give consent.

A reasonable question would be about Italian law regarding treatment of a minor should the minor's guardian be incapacitated or unavailable. Are Italians as concerned about liability as Americans?

I should amend reference to Americans to North Americans.

Edgar. No italian hospital is going to let a child die because they cannot find a parent to sign a piece of paper.

Let me reply from an Italian point of view. Accidents can happen to anybody at any time. I remember the day I played organ at the marriage of a couple of friends. As I was putting back the key of the organ consolle at its place, I tripped on a marble step and the following istant I was on the ground, with a dislocated shoulder joint, almost unable to breath, let alone to move. It may happen once or twice in a lifetime, but it may happen.

As long as an accident happens in a populated place, I am fairly sure that somebody around will phone 118 and summon an ambulance in less than two minutes. As one relative (and only one) is generally allowed in the ambulance, both persons could go to the emergency room. As soon as the medical team realizes that there is a minor without assistance around, they will summon a police officer that will take care of the situation. I would not expect this process to be speedy - it could take, say, eight hours if the ER is crowded and there are more urgent cases - but I would not expect anything different.

What may be really important could be having some medical insurance covering emergency transportation back home. Italian authorities will somehow take care of treating the ill persons and caring for minors, but will not take care of bringing back home a sick foreigner.

As for the second hypotesis: under Italian law, anybody has the duty to give assistance or notify authorities about a sick person or an unattended minor under ten years or anybody clearly needing assistance. Medical personnel has the duty to treat persons in danger, and the liability for not treating an emergency would be bigger than the liability of not having the authorization of the custodian of a minor.

Do an Internet search of "medical treatment of a minor without parental consent".

American Academy of Pediatrics: "Policy Statement—Consent for Emergency Medical Services for Children and Adolescents"

ABSTRACT. Parental consent generally is required for the medical
> evaluation and treatment of minor children. However, children and
adolescents might require evaluation of and treatment for emergency
medical conditions in situations in which a parent or legal guardian
is not available to provide consent or conditions under which an
adolescent patient might possess the legal authority to provide
consent. In general, a medical screening examination and any medical
care necessary and likely to prevent imminent and significant harm to
the pediatric patient with an emergency medical condition should not
be withheld or de- layed because of problems obtaining consent. The
purpose of this policy statement is to provide guidance in those
situations in which pa- rental consent is not readily available, in
which parental consent is not necessary, or in which parental refusal
of consent places a child at risk of significant harm. Pediatrics
2011;128:427–433

Potential problem can be a delay in treatment on less than critical situations.:

Any time a minor is treated without consent, the burden of proof falls
on the professional who is evaluating, treating, or transporting the
child to jus- tify and document that the emergency actions were
necessaryto prevent immi- nent and significant harm to the child.

Edgar. The advice the other poster and I gave still stands. No hospital in Italy is going to refuse treatment in serious circumstances. Why create a worry for the OP where none exists. Unless you can come up with a feasible scenario where this could be an issue???

I think the possibility of both of my loved ones being incapacitated by a medical emergency away from home is beyond my capacity to offset by advance planning/knowledge, with the exception perhaps of having sufficient and appropriate insurance. I appreciate the discussion though.

Kim

I did not imply that medics would deny emergency care to a minor. To the contrary, the cited American Pediatric policy is biased towards the welfare of the minor. The issue is need for consent for non-life/limb care as interpreted by Italian laws.

This is where emergency contact information would be helpful in that locating the other parent/guardian would expedite care. It would also be useful for the minor to carry medical information of the kind listed on a "consent for medical treatment of a minor" form such as pediatrician name and contact, allergies, any religious restrictions etc.

There is a difference between paranoia and preparedness. Kim just wants to be prepared.