Chest Pain Guidelines for GP Receptionists
If the Patient has:  Central Chest Pain which is severe crushing OR
 Chest pain which has lasted for 15 minutes or more
OR
 Chest pain and a past history of heart problems OR
 The patient is collapsed or unconscious OR
 The patient has other symptoms similar to a previous
heart attack
The patient may be having a heart attack. It is important to act
quickly
 Ask caller for patients name, address (including
postcode) and telephone number (or location if not at
home
 Tell Caller that first you will telephone 999
ambulance and then will try to inform GP
immediately
 Call 999 ambulance. If patient is unconscious, ask
ambulance control to telephone the caller to provide
cardiopulmonary resuscitation** (CPR)
GP Immediately available
 Interrupt GP
immediately
 Provide GP with notes (if
applicable)
 Clearly mark any
temporary address or
location if the patient is
not at home
No GP immediately available
 Attempt to contact GP
immediately
 If successful with contact,
inform him of the
patient’s location and that
a 999 ambulance is
mobilised
** If a patient is unconscious or not breathing, the staff at
ambulance control can advise the caller on what to do while they
wait for an ambulance to arrive
Thanks and acknowledgement to British Heart Foundation & North Yorkshire Heartsave