Emergency medical services in Austria
Municipalities, including both smaller communities (Gemeinden) and cities (Städte) are given responsibility by the State for operating EMS.
Austrian law mandates the provision of rescue and fire services, including EMS, staffing and equipping according to levels which correspond to local population.
[1] Unlike other countries EMS in Austria is never provided by the fire department, the city of Admont being the only exception to this rule.
They are brought into action whenever a patient with a serious and complex medical condition, requiring advanced levels of support during transit needs to be transferred between hospitals.
The GP service is usually only used for minor illnesses (i.e. fever, common cold), where a hospital stay is not necessary but the intervention of a Physician may be advisable.
The availability of this service provides a better treatment option to those patients who, in other EMS systems, might generate low-acuity ambulance calls or emergency department visits.
Occasionally, the visiting GP will contact the EMS dispatcher and order a Krankentransport, should it be determined following medical assessment, that the patient could be cared for in a safer and better manner in a hospital.
Even though the Austrian Red Cross operates ambulances all over Austria there is a huge variety of non-emergency numbers such as 14 844 for Styria, 1484 for Carinthia or 01 52 144 for Vienna.
If a severe incident such as, for example, a myocardial infarction is reported the dispatcher always sends the closest NKTW or RTW and a NEF to the scene.
The basic equipment of the above-mentioned vehicles are obligatory and are minimal requirements: Depending on the type of the vehicle, there are numerous items which have to be on the ambulance, among them are: Additionally, several different kinds of drugs are found on an Ambulance, typically a selection of analgesics, anaesthetics, cardiac stimulants, substances for circulatory problems and antidotes.
A system similar to the U.S.-based 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point concept is not being used due to the significantly different nature of the calls for EMS, the fire brigade or the police.
Whilst the vehicles are being alarmed by the dispatcher, the call taker may remain on the line with the caller, providing telephone advice or assistance until the EMS resources arrive on the scene.
While still on the line with the caller the dispatcher is able to guide the ambulance to the scene and provide the crew with additional and more precise information about the incident.
