Epidemiology and Outcomes from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Kuwait

Table 1

Key features of Kuwait emergency medical services.

Call volume in 2017 (incidence/1,000 inhabitants/year)	139,751
Proportion of calls resulting in ambulance	All calls receive an ambulance
Index/dispatch priority tool	All calls are high priority
Manual/electronic use of index	Electronic
Dispatch priority tool	North American Emergency Medical Priority Dispatch (Pro QA version12.1)
Mandatory/optional use of index	Optional
Call takers’ certification and education	125 nurses (73%), 47 emergency medical technicians (EMTs) (26%), and 3 paramedics, 1-day intensive course: dispatcher-assisted CPR SHARE course (70)
Approximate number of call takers/24 h shift	25 call takers/shift
Ambulance services (2017 numbers)	114,525 missions; 173 ambulances, 3 helicopters
Mean response time	11.3 minutes
First responder system	No first responder system
Public access defibrillation	Not installed
Competence of ambulance providers	Paramedics 150 (25%); EMTs 450 (75%)