Rescue services in Denmark
Legal bases In Denmark, the medical rescue service and the transport of patients form part of hospital provision, which is legally regulated by the Hospital Act and the Health Service Act. The 14 communes as well as the two municipalities which are equivalent to the communes are responsible for ensuring an area-wide and needs-based rescue service.
Organisation Characteristic of the Danish rescue service is the extensive transfer of the public function of a rescue service to a private company: The communes usually fulfil their legal function of providing a rescue service in their district by acceding to an agreement between the Association of Danish Districts and the private rescue service company "Falcks Redningscorps“. On the basis of this agreement, Falck is responsible for about 85% of rescue service provision; the remaining 15% is ensured by the fire service and a few other private services. No provision is made for the legal or organisational separation of emergency rescue and patient transport. Another peculiarity is that the Danish rescue service also has to include technical rescue as well as emergency rescue and patient transport. The period of help is not defined by the state; each commune sets its own standard. In 1995, the average period of help was 8.7 minutes.
Head offices All emergency vehicles are affiliated to control stations (head offices) which provide and organise both ambulance services and fire services as well as other services such as the police. The control centres are connected to 39 alarm centres spread throughout the country and located in police stations (in the main fire station in Copenhagen). These are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. The alarm centres can be reached by dialling the emergency number 112 anywhere in the country.
Doctor involvement Doctors, particularly emergency doctors, are not involved in the Danish rescue service. Exceptions are to be found in some rural areas, where the duty GP is called out to accidents, heart attacks, etc., and in some of the larger towns, where an emergency medical team (anaesthetist and a-naesthesia nurse) is collected from the hospital by ambulance in certain emergencies, while a second ambulance drives straight to the scene of the accident. In 1985, the Rendez-vous system (an emergency doctor vehicle with an anaesthetist and a fireman with ambulance training sets out separately from the ambulance) was introduced as a pilot scheme in Copenhagen.
Air rescue In Denmark, there is no air rescue service to support the land rescue service. Helicopters are only used for emergency sea rescues and incidents involving major damage.
Personnel / Training Up until 1992, training was based solely on agreements between Falck and the Association of Danish Communes. After a foundation year, theoretical and practical courses with employment by Falck follow within two years. In 1992, the Danish Parliament passed a new Health Act which defines the rescue service as a part of the health service in the communes. The staff of the rescue service are divided into two groups with different degrees of medical expertise: "ambulance assistants” and “ambulance medical assistants”. Since 1998, every ambulance has had to be manned by at least one “ambulance medical assistant”.
Finance The rescue service is financed on the basis of the agreement between the Association of Danish Communes and the private company Falck. As part of public hospital provision, the rescue service is also a public service which is generally financed by taxation. Patients are not charged for emergency transport or emergency services or treatment. The contracts between Falck and the communes provide for the rescue service to be paid on the basis of periods of help and utilisation figures. For example, if a commune provides for a shorter period of help, the amount which it has to pay Falck increases. | 
