Contact Bankmed Emergency Services

In an emergency, contact Bankmed Emergency Services. This number is on your membership card, but we also suggest you save it on your cellphone.

If you are admitted to hospital in an emergency, please contact us for authorisation within 48 hours.

Contact us on 0860 999 911

Emergency Services

Bankmed Emergency Services offers real-time emergency care for all members. This number is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any emergency calls. Highly qualified emergency personnel manage this line. They assess each case and provide immediate feedback and help.

If you need medically equipped transport in South Africa, our Emergency Services will send an ambulance or helicopter to take you to hospital. We pay for the cost from your Hospital Benefit; it does not matter if you are admitted to hospital or not.

You can go to any hospital in a medical emergency. We will pay for your emergency hospital admission at any hospital, even if it is not in our network.

The Medical Schemes Act sets out what an emergency medical condition is. Even if a Healthcare Professional tells you, it's a medical emergency, we only pay in full for a medical condition if:

  • The medical condition starts suddenly and is unexpected.
  • The condition must be treated at once (treatment could involve an operation).
  • If treatment does not start at once, the condition could cause weakened bodily functions, serious and lasting damage to organs, limbs, or other body parts, or even death.

If you have a sudden health problem, it is not always clear if the condition is a medical emergency or not. To pay for treatment as a Prescribed Minimum Benefit, we may ask you to send us proof that the situation was a medical emergency.