Ambulances and emergency medical care.

THE availability of effective emergency Tmedical care and of safe and expeditious transportation to the nearest capable physician or hospital for definitive treatment is an absolute necessity for every citizen. Anything less than this could effectively cancel out for the patient the great technical strides we have made in definitive surgical and medical treatment. No intelligent discussion about the serious epidemic of motor vehicle accidents we are experiencing, and what public health administrators should do about it, can take place without some recognition of the community need for these emergency care and transportation services. As with so many things in public health practice, however, it is extremely important to approach the provision of ambulance services and adequate emergency care with a certain humility, curiosity, and concern to determine what problems there are, if any; what is being done about them and who is doing it, if anything; and what might be done further, if it seems appropriate.