Emergency medical services in Norway
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[edit] Ambulances in Norway
Ambulances in Norway are operated both by the government (financed through the four regional Hospital Trusts) and private organizations such as the Red Cross and commercial transportation companies. Ambulances are usually staffed by two emergency medicine technicians, who have two years of training at Vocational school followed by two-year internships. Ambulances in Norway have traditionally been manned by EMTs with only 2 or 3 month courses in acute emergency medicine, but increasing focus on prehospital medicine has phased such courses out in favor of the more comprehensive 2+2 year education. As of 2003, a new national education at college level is offered. This is inspired by American EMS training, and is a one-year degree offered to current EMTs. The degree grants the right to use the title "Paramedic" and is a requirement for working in the ambulance service in most of the Oslo region.
As Norway has a very scattered population with lots of small towns and villages that are located far from hospitals and treatment centers, the ambulances are supplemented with helicopters; these are operated by the Air Force and two private organizations through Norwegian Air Ambulance. At a national level, effort is being made to reduce the number of ambulances staffed by personnel on home call. The national goal is that any citizen should not have to wait more than 12 minutes (in densely populated areas) or 20 minutes (in scarcely populated areas) for emergency services.
