EMS in Mauritius.

Mauritius lies in the southwest Indian Ocean about 1250 miles from the African coast and 500 miles from Madagascar. Mauritius (estimated population 1,230,602) became independent from the United Kingdom in 1968 and has one of the highest GDP per capita in Africa. Within Mauritius there is a well established EMS system with a single 999 national dispatch system. Ambulances are either publicly or privately owned. Public ambulances are run by the Government (SAMU). Megacare is a private subscriber only ambulance service. The Government has recently invested in new technology such as telemedicine to further enhance the role of EMS on the island. This article describes the current state of EMS in Mauritius and depicts its development in the context of Government effort to decentralise and modernise the healthcare system.