Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. They may also be known as a first aid squad, FAST squad, emergency squad, ambulance squad, ambulance corps, life squad or by other initialisms such as EMAS or EMARS.
An emergency medical technician is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances and in fire departments in the US and Canada, as full-time and some part-time departments require their firefighters to be EMT certified.
An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medical emergencies by emergency medical services (EMS), and can rapidly transport paramedics and other first responders, carry equipment for administering emergency care, and transport patients to hospital or other definitive care. Most ambulances use a design based on vans or pickup trucks, though others take the form of motorcycles, buses, hearses, aircraft and boats.
A medical director is a physician who provides guidance and leadership on the use of medicine in a healthcare organization. These include the emergency medical services, hospital departments, blood banks, clinical teaching services, and others. A medical director devises the protocols and guidelines for the clinical staff and evaluates them while they are in use.
The City of Toronto Paramedic Services is the statutory emergency medical services provider in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The service is operated as a division of the City of Toronto, under the Community & Social Services cluster. The service is funded by the municipal tax base, and operates similarly to other municipal divisions, such as the Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation division, or the Toronto Water division, but retains operational independence from other divisions. While under municipal government control, it is subject to provincial legislation and licensing. It is not the only service provider in its area; private-for-profit medical transport services also provide routine, non-emergency transports and coverage for special events, but the statutory emergency medical system is the only provider permitted to service emergency calls.
The Hong Kong Fire Services Department is an emergency service responsible for firefighting and rescue on land and sea. It also provides an emergency ambulance service for the sick and the injured and gives fire protection advice to the public. It is under the Secretary for Security who heads the Security Bureau.
Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) is a voluntary medical and health services provider in Hong Kong. Its mission is to supply effectively and efficiently regular services to maintain the health and well-being of people in Hong Kong.
A nontransporting EMS vehicle is a vehicle that responds to and provides emergency medical services (EMS) without the ability to transport patients. For patients whose condition requires transport, an ambulance is necessary. In some cases they may fulfill other duties when not participating in EMS operations, such as policing or fire suppression.
Louisville Metro Emergency Medical Services is the primary provider of pre-hospital life support and emergency care within Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky. LMEMS is a governmental department that averages 90,000 calls for service, both emergency and non-emergency, each year.
In the United States, emergency medical services (EMS) provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care for those in need. They are regulated at the most basic level by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets the minimum standards that all states' EMS providers must meet, and regulated more strictly by individual state governments, which often require higher standards from the services they oversee.
Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) provides fire and EMS services to the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It operates from 27 fire stations, and 3 administration offices across the city.
Emergency medical services in Canada are the responsibility of each Canadian province or territory. The services, including both ambulance and paramedic services, may be provided directly by the province, contracted to a private provider, or delegated to local governments, which may, in turn, create service delivery arrangements with municipal departments, hospitals, or private providers. The approach, and the standards, vary considerably between provinces and territories.
Emergency Medical Service in Germany is a service of public pre-hospital emergency healthcare, including ambulance service, provided by individual German cities and counties. It is primarily financed by the German public health insurance system.
Emergency medical services in the Netherlands is a system of pre hospital care provided by the government in partnership with private companies.
Emergency medical services in Australia are provided by state ambulance services, which are a division of each state or territorial government, and by St John Ambulance in both Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
State Medical Rescue in Poland is a system of free public emergency healthcare established by Ustawa o Państwowym Ratownictwie Medycznym, including ambulance service and Emergency Departments (EDs). While in Polish public hospitals and clinics NFZ common public insurance is required, PRM medical services in ambulances and EDs are completely free for everyone. Since 2018 emergency ambulances that operates in PRM, that is Polish 112 and 999 emergency numbers, are operated by public entities only.
Emergency medical services in Iceland include the provision of ambulance service. They provide all emergency ambulance service for a population of in excess of 320,000 people in one of the most sparsely settled countries in Europe. The system is government-funded for the first 85 percent of cost, with 15 percent being charged to the individual as a deterrent fee. All services in Iceland are provided by the Icelandic Red Cross, with individual ambulances often co-located with local fire brigades.
The National Ambulance Service is the statutory public ambulance service in Ireland. The service is operated by the National Hospitals Office of the Health Service Executive, the Irish national healthcare authority.
Emergency Medical Service in Austria is a service of public pre-hospital emergency healthcare, including ambulance service, provided by individual Austrian municipalities, cities and counties. It is primarily financed by the Austrian health insurance companies.
The New York City Fire Department Bureau of Emergency Medical Services is a division of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in charge of emergency medical services for New York City. It was established on March 17, 1996, following the merger of the FDNY and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation's emergency medical services division. FDNY EMS provides coverage of all five boroughs of New York City with ambulances and a variety of specialized response vehicles.
