Emergency care

Emergency care is responsible for the assessment of the status of acutely ill or injured patients, first aid at the scene and the transport of the patients to the health care emergency service point if necessary. The objective of emergency care is to provide care outside the hospital that saves the patient's life or stops the injury or illness from getting worse. An ambulance providing emergency care can be requested by calling the emergency number 112. Risk assessment is made at the Emergency Response Centre, and an ambulance is sent to the scene. The tasks of emergency care also include maintenance of the readiness for catastrophe and preparing for exceptional circumstances. First response is part of emergency care. In first response, a fire engine or ambulance equipped for emergency care is sent to help the patient if the actual ambulance for the given task is not available at the moment. Emergency care tasks are divided into four urgency categories (A-D). Categories A-C are urgent emergency care tasks under the responsibility of the Rescue Department. D tasks are non-urgent tasks in which the patient must be reached in two hours. The Rescue Department produces the emergency care services in the Jorvi, Länsi-Uusimaa and Lohja hospital areas in collaboration with the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. Non-urgent emergency care tasks in the Jorvi hospital area (Espoo, Kauniainen, Kirkkonummi) are the responsibility of the private service provider EMA ensihoito Oy.