Emergency Preparedness Checklist for an Indian Family

Start with one honest question: if something happened to you tonight, could another adult in your home find your documents, call the right people and tell a doctor what they need to know? For most families the answer is 'partly'.

Sit down together, even for an hour, and decide who does what. A simple plan that everyone remembers is better than a perfect one that lives in one person's head.

Put the important papers in one place that every adult in the house knows about, and keep scans of them on a phone. You do not need to carry everything, but you should be able to produce it quickly.

A phone scan of each page, saved in a clearly named folder, takes only a few minutes per document. Old paper copies are still worth keeping, because hospitals sometimes ask to see originals.

• Photo identity proofs for each family member.
• Health insurance or accident cover papers, with the policy number and helpline.
• Recent prescriptions and lab reports, especially for long-term conditions.
• Vaccination records for children and older relatives.
• A short note of each person's blood group, allergies and daily medicines.

Write down the people to call, in order: a family member who lives nearby, one who lives far away, a trusted neighbour, and the family doctor. Keep the list on the fridge, in each phone, and inside each wallet or bag.

Then check that these people know they are on it. A neighbour who has your spare key and knows which hospital you prefer can save precious time. Children old enough to hold a phone should know how to call 112 and say their address clearly.

Make one page for each person with the medicine name, the dose, the time of day and what it is for. Include supplements and anything bought over the counter. Mark clearly any medicine that must never be skipped, and any allergy.

Update the page whenever the doctor changes something, and photograph it so it lives on your phone too. When a paramedic or doctor asks 'what does she take?', this single page answers it in seconds.

Your plan should begin with one rule: in an emergency, call 112 first. It is India's unified emergency number, and in many states 108 also reaches an ambulance. Everyone in the house, including children and grandparents, should be able to recall it without searching.

A tap health card such as MedoEase then helps with what comes after the call, by showing blood group, allergies and an emergency contact to the people treating you. It is a supplement and never a substitute for emergency services. Review the whole checklist twice a year, and whenever a family member's health changes.