In 1999 the first ambulances arrived on the Pitiusas islands: a basic life support ambulance and a mobile ICU.
The SAMU 061 of the Area of Health of Ibiza and Formentera celebrates its 25th anniversary. The health care service for out-of-hospital emergencies and emergencies came to the Pitiusas on 27 May 1999 with a basic life support ambulance (BLS), an advanced life support (ALS) or mobile ICU (both with 24-hour coverage), and a medical helicopter.
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SAMU 061 of the Health Area of Ibiza and Formentera
In the following years, different advanced life support ambulances were placed in Formentera, Sant Antoni de Portmany and Santa Eulària des Riu. Currently, the Health Area of Ibiza and Formentera has four advanced life support ambulances, seven basic life support ambulances -one of them with reinforcement during the summer-, a medical helicopter and a medical emergency coordination centre.
Currently, the care team is made up of 27 doctors, 30 nurses and 109 emergency medical transport technicians. The first recorded data date back to 2008, when a total of 11,680 telephone calls were received, resulting in the mobilisation of ambulance services on 7,548 occasions.
In 2023, 26,146 telephone calls were registered and 19,008 resources were mobilised, with 94 % being located on Ibiza and 6 % on Formentera. In relation to air resources, in recent years the number of transfers has risen from 225 in 1999 to 743 last year. In terms of care processes, currently, one cardiorespiratory arrest and one serious polytrauma is attended to every four days. It should be noted that there has been a 55% increase in the number of infarction codes in the last fifteen years.
SAMU 061 was created with the following objectives:
- To reduce mortality levels in serious and critical health processes.
- To set up emergency response systems.
-To coordinate efforts with the different health administrations.
The 061 number, as the reference telephone number for managing medical emergencies, guarantees 24-hour coverage every day of the year.