Emergency medical services in France

Emergency medical services in France are provided by a mix of organizations under public health control. The central organizations that provide these services are known as a SAMU, which stands for Service d’aide médicale urgente (Urgent Medical Aid Service). Local SAMU organisations operate the control rooms that answer emergency calls and dispatch medical responders. They also operate the SMUR (Service mobile d’urgence et réanimation – Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Service), which refers to the ambulances and response vehicles that provide advanced medical care. Other ambulances and response vehicles are provided by the fire services and private ambulance services. The term SAMU may refer to either the overall integrated emergency medical service of France, or to a local organisation that coordinates the service. A law in 1986 defined SAMU organizations as hospital-based services providing permanent telephone support, choosing and dispatching the proper response for a phone call request. The service is organized based on the departments of France. Each department has a hospital-based SAMU organisation which is named with the department's unique two-digit number code. For example, SAMU 06 covers Alpes-Maritimes (including Nice) while SAMU 75 covers Paris. Additionally, two SAMU have specific tasks: The Paris SAMU is responsible for providing service to high-speed trains (TGV) and Air France aircraft, while in flight. The Toulouse SAMU is responsible for providing service to ships at sea. In addition to the mainland French departments, SAMU also operates in most of the offshore North and South American Départements, such as Guadeloupe (SAMU 971), Martinique, Guyane or Pacific and Indian French Islands (Tahiti Reunion). The central component of SAMU is the dispatch centre where a team of physicians and assistants answer calls, triage the patients' complaints and respond to them. Their options include: Dispatching an ambulance or response vehicle. Directing the patient to present themselves at a place of care, such as a primary care clinic or hospital.