Nanny Emergency Plan: A Singapore Parent’s Checklist

Put emergency services before the parent callback

SCDF’s emergency medical guidance identifies breathlessness, seizures, loss of consciousness, excessive bleeding and major trauma among medical emergencies. Call 995 for an emergency ambulance or fire emergency. Do not delay the emergency call while trying to reach a parent.

Singapore Police Force lists 999 for immediate police assistance. Keep these emergency numbers clearly separate from parents, a backup adult, building management and the child’s usual clinic. A hospital’s general telephone line is not a substitute for 995.

Ask the nanny to save the contacts and show where the written copy is kept. Agree which parent to update once emergency help has been contacted, and who can assist if both parents are unavailable.

Prepare one information sheet that can be found quickly

Fill it in together, in a language the caregiver understands. Keep it available to authorised carers without displaying private medical or household details to visitors.

• Location: home address, block and unit, postal code and useful arrival directions.
• Child: name, date of birth, known allergies and relevant medical conditions.
• Clinical instructions: the current written plan supplied by the child’s clinician, including any prescribed emergency medicine and its location.
• Contacts: parents, agreed backup adult and usual clinic, with each person’s role stated.
• Care arrangement: who is responsible for the children present and who can help with another child during an incident.
• Review: date checked and which details have changed.

Show the caregiver the medicine and instructions rather than leaving an unexplained bottle or relying on a verbal dose. Ask the clinician to clarify any unclear child-specific instruction before the caregiver needs it.

Practise explaining the location and what has happened

SCDF asks callers to give their name and telephone number, the specific address or location, and a brief description of the patient’s signs and symptoms. Answer the call taker’s questions, follow their instructions and stay on the line until told to end the call.

If the child’s condition worsens, SCDF advises calling 995 again for further instructions. When another responsible adult is available, arrange for them to guide responders in; do not leave a child without appropriate supervision to meet an ambulance.

Rehearse finding the address and describing a situation aloud. This is a household practice exercise: do not call an emergency number to test the plan.

Match the training to children and infants

The Singapore Red Cross Basic Child and Infant First Aid Workshop is aimed at parents and caregivers, including nannies and domestic helpers. Its published content includes a first-aid kit, common child emergencies, choking response and child and infant CPR.

The workshop awards a Certificate of Participation. That is not the same as assuming every attendee holds an assessed first-aid qualification. Ask the provider about the course content, assessment and certificate when choosing training. Review the caregiver’s actual training and any refresher requirements.

Use the training provider’s kit guidance to choose supplies, then show where the kit is kept and check its contents and expiry dates. Keep medicines and supplies inaccessible to children but accessible to the responsible adult. This article does not provide CPR, choking or medicine-dosing instructions.

Walk through the building’s fire plan

Show the nanny the relevant exit stairs, any building evacuation information and the agreed meeting point. Explain how the children in their care would be accounted for, including a baby who must be carried.

SCDF’s high-rise fire guidance says to evacuate using the exit staircases rather than lifts. In super high-rise buildings, designated refuge floors may form part of the route. Confirm the actual arrangements for your building instead of copying another household’s plan.

Discuss situations where a route is unsafe or unavailable using SCDF’s current Civil Defence Emergency Handbook and building guidance. During a fire emergency, call 995 and follow SCDF’s instructions. Do not make fighting a fire or climbing through a window an expected caregiving duty.

Finish with a caregiver handover check

• Can the nanny identify 995 and 999 without searching a message history?
• Can they find the full address and the child’s information sheet?
• Do they understand the current clinical plan and where any prescribed emergency medicine is stored?
• Have you reviewed their child and infant first-aid training?
• Can they find the kit, exit stairs and relevant building instructions?
• Do they know who updates parents and who can support the other children?

Repeat the walkthrough when a caregiver, address, phone number or care plan changes. Keep the discussion calm and invite questions; the aim is a usable shared plan, not a test of confidence.

EduNanny’s private nanny service arranges care in the family’s own home. The ECDA childminding pilot and licensed childcare settings are separate arrangements: ask their operator about the site’s emergency procedures and family communication rather than treating this home checklist as its operating policy.

For the broader handover, see our first-week nanny guide and care agreement checklist.

Official and training-provider guidance checked 13 October 2026. Featured image: an AI-generated conceptual planning still life, not an actual child’s record, first-aid kit or care incident. Care for every little chapter.