State Medical Emergency System in Poland

The first ambulance service in Poland was established in 1891 in Cracow. Many tips and assistance concerning the creation of the ambulance were provided by the organisers of the first ambulance in Europe (the Vienna ambulance in 1883). Since January 2007, the Act of 8 September 2006 on the National Medical Rescue Service has been a binding legal act. The aim of the Act is to introduce the functioning of the emergency medical system, both through a high level of health services based on the standards of Western countries and providing the required solutions in the area of emergency notification. The State Medical Rescue System was established to provide assistance to any person in need who is in a state of health emergency. The owner of the PRM system unit must ensure the readiness of people, resources and organizational units. The units of the PRM system providing services only in case of an emergency are: medical rescue teams, including airborne medical rescue teams and hospital emergency departments.