It's 6.30pm when Magali finally arrives home after a long day at work. She frees the nanny, who warns her that her daughter is not feeling well today. Magali goes through bath and dinner, but her daughter doesn't want to eat anything. She really doesn't look well. Magali takes her daughter's temperature, which is 39°. She gives her some paracetamol and tries to put her to bed. 45 minutes later, her daughter is crying and swimming. Her temperature has risen to 40°. Magali starts to stress out, because she doesn't know what's wrong and it's 9pm! Going to the emergency room would mean waiting hours for a doctor to examine her, but Magali doesn't want to leave her daughter like that and needs to be reassured, so what can she do?

If you live on the Left Bank of Geneva, you can try out the Eaux-Vives pediatric ward, which recently moved to a magnificent new location in the new Eaux-Vives train station. This service offers out-of-hours consultations for children aged 0 to 18, which can be a good alternative to going to emergency (depending on the problem, of course).

Advantage N°1:

No more waiting! The pediatric on-call service is now available by appointment only . 

Let's take the case of Magali, who finds herself at 9pm on a weekday evening with her 3.5-year-old daughter, who has a fever of 40°. She doesn't have the courage to wait hours in the emergency room, so she decides to call the Eaux-Vives pediatric ward. On the phone, she explains her daughter's symptoms and is told that there is still a place to see the pediatrician at 9.30pm. Wonderful news! 25 minutes later, Magali and her daughter arrive at the pediatric ward. Magali fills in a form and, barely 10 minutes later, the pediatrician picks them up in the waiting room.

After auscultation, the pediatrician diagnosed angina. Nothing serious, but it explains her daughter's condition. He tells her to continue taking paracetamol and prescribes a syrup, which she will buy for her the next day. Magali is reassured! 

If there is no more room, and depending on the symptoms described over the phone, the medical assistant will advise you and direct you to the most appropriate medical facility, depending on where you live, the severity of your child's symptoms and the availability of on-call pediatricians. This upstream telephone triage avoids unnecessary travel.

In the event of a life-threatening emergency, go directly to the pediatric emergency department of theGeneva Children's Hospital (HUG).

The pediatric on-call service handles situations requiring rapid diagnosis and treatment, as is the case with most childhood illnesses and minor accidents:

• Fever
• Vomiting
• Urinary tract infection
• Slight fall
• Itchy skin
• Flu
• Heat button
• Measles
• Varicella
• Whooping cough
• Mumps
• Rubella

This list is not exhaustive.

Advantage N°2 :

Opening hours! The pediatric on-call service is open every weekday evening from 7pm to 10pm and on weekends and public holidays from 9am to 10pm.

Practical information

Address:
Centre Médical Eaux-Vives
Av. de la Gare-des-Eaux-Vives 3
1207 Genève

To make an appointment:
By phone: +41 22 737 47 57 or online at onedoc.ch

Please note: telephone and internet reservations open 1 hour before the start of consultation times.

Access:
New underground parking lot at Geneva Eaux-Vives station (entrance on rue Franck-Thomas on the right. Beware, it is not very visible).

• By bus: N°21, Gare-des-Eaux-Vives stop or N°1, 9, 33 and A Gare-des-Eaux-Vives Vadie stop
• By streetcar: N°12, N°17 Gare-des-Eaux-Vives stop
• By train: Geneva Eaux-Vives station

Advantage N°3 :

If it's your regular pediatrician's day, it may be his or her turn to see you. In fact, several pediatricians in the region take turns every day at the canton's 3 on-call centers (Eaux-Vives, Petit-Lancy and Hôpital la Tour).

I recommend the Eaux-vives pediatric ward to all parents!

Testimonial from Leslie, MotherStories member

Leslie, mother of Rose (2.5 years old), tells us about her experience at the Eaux-Vives paediatric day-care center:

" One Sunday evening, my daughter had a fever, so I booked an appointment directly online at the Eaux-Vives pediatric ward, on the recommendation of a friend. 1.5 hours later, we had an appointment on the spot .

The center is super-easy to get to, thanks to parking at the Eaux-vives train station. This new center is just magnificent, like the lobby of a luxury hotel (smile).

My daughter was taken care of right away, so we didn't have to wait. What's more, as luck would have it, she was treated by her own pediatrician who was on call that evening. A real pleasure.

20 minutes later we left with a diagnosis and a prescription. Everything was covered by insurance and I didn't have to pay anything on the spot.

I highly recommend the center to all parents! It was a reassuring and very pleasant experience considering the circumstances."