[Prehospital service in Denmark]

In Denmark, emergency ambulances are dispatched by 41 centres manned either by trained firemen (in Copenhagen) or policemen (outside Copenhagen). In 1990, emergency ambulance calls totalled 284,000. Utilisation of emergency ambulance services increases with urbanisation. A doctor-manned ambulance is in operation in Copenhagen, and in some other large towns anaesthesiology and intensive care teams can be dispatched from hospital to give on-the-spot care. In less populated areas, some general practitioners give advanced life-support. Although many areas are serviced by ambulances equipped with defibrillators, the majority of patients receive only basic life-support from ambulance personnel. New initiatives resulting from a recent report by a commission appointed by central authorities, and focused on prehospital treatment, are expected to improve the service by raising the level of training given to ambulance personnel.