Emergency medical services in the Blackhelm Confederacy
In the Blackhelm Confederacy, emergency medical services (EMS) provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care for those in need. They are regulated at the provincial level, with each individual province setting their own standards and guidelines for services within their borders.
Wide differences in population density, topography, and other conditions can call for different types of EMS systems; consequently, there is often significant variation between the Emergency Medical Services provided in one province and those provided in another.
In all areas of the country, emergency services can be contacted by dialing 999, which routes calls to local provincially-based call centers.
Organization and funding
Publicly operated EMS
Publicly operated EMS operates along two separate lines - one branch of the public EMS is based out of veterans hospitals, which are open to serving any members of the public who served in the Blackhelm Confederate Military as well as their families.
The other branch is operated on a municipal basis, and is utilized to transport individuals to nearby church-run or private hospitals at the municipalities expense.
Both of these services are funded directly by the tax dollars of Blackhelm Confederate citizens.
Church services
Church-based providers make up by far the largest number of medical providers in the nation, and as such most EMS responers will be affiliated with a church-run organization. Typically, church-based services will rely upon the services of paid, full-time lay paramedics and emergency medical technicians. In many areas, however, ambulance service is primarily volunteer based - especially in smaller municipalities where the ambulances are a part of the local parish.
The funding for these services primarily comes from the annual tithes paid by most Blackhelm Confederate Catholics each year.
Private/for-profit services
Private, for-profit ambulance services are relied upon in many areas of the Blackhelm Confederacy, especially in larger urban centers. The quality of private ambulance care can vary widely, with many wealthier residents preferring to rely upon concierge-style services with top-of-the-line responders as staff, while those with fewer means available might be left with staff who have little to no medical training.
In many wealthier areas, the preferred ambulance services will be added to the home phone's speed dial to ensure prompt service from the correct ambulance corps.