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Emergency medical services in Iceland include the provision of ambulance service. They provide all emergency ambulance service for a population of in excess of 300,000 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.
An attempt to describe the model of care used quickly becomes complex. At the ALS end of the spectrum, the model closely resembles the German version of the Franco-German model, with paramedics working with and under the direction of a physician. This represents, however, only the 5 percent of EMS personnel in the entire country who are paramedics, and only a single ambulance, out of 77 units in service. For the balance, the model much more closely resembles the Anglo-American model, with EMTs making their own treatment decisions based upon local guidelines, albeit at a BLS level, or at best, with the limited skill set of an EMT-I.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
