Austrian EMT's. This level requires a minimum of 500 hours experience on a physician based emergency vehicle. The education includes 110 hours of in and out hospital training and will allow the EMT to intubate a patient without pre-medication in a cardiac arrest situation. The other skill set remains the same as of the NKV paramedic. This education is controversial in the Austrian Emercency Medical Services because of the different interests of EMS providers according to the training level of EMT. While some EMS providers barely educate Notfallsanitäter, some EMS providers already started an advanced paramedic education as a pilot project to improve the skill level and relieve the emergency physicians. Notarzt (Emergency physician): The highest trained staff in the Austrian Emergency Medical Service. After the medical study of 6 years he has to do 60 hours of pre-hospital medicine training course and will be allowed to work as a Notarzt. Mostly the Notarzt is already a trained anesthesiologist or in intensive care physician. The exact requirements to work as emergency physician are depending on the EMS provider the physician will work at. Equipment The basic equipment of the above-mentioned vehicles are obligatory and are minimal requirements: Basic First Aid kit. Dressings and Bandages Gurney and blankets Flexible stretcher, also called a Reeves stretcher. Rigid or collapsible transport chair, called a stair chair in the United States Mobile medical ventilator Basic diagnostic equipment, like blood-pressure cuffs. Portable defibrillator Depending on the type of the vehicle, there are numerous items which have to be on the ambulance, among them are: An ECG monitor Rescue equipment Immobilization equipment like Cervical collars or spine boards Equipment for intravenous therapy Additionally, several different kinds of drugs are found on an Ambulance, typically a selection of analgesics, anaesthetics, cardiac stimulants, substances for circulatory problems and antidotes. Narcotics are not widely carried on ambulances. Usually only the Notarzt will carry a small amount of Morphine, Fentanyl or Piritramide and closely guard them. Dispatch All emergency calls, regardless of the emergency number on which they originate, are routed to Dispatch Centres; in German Leitstelle. Until the year 2000 it was very common that every district had its own dispatch centre which, in a way, was quite ineffective. At present more and more trans-regional dispatch centres are being built. That means that all 144 calls in Styria, for example, are routed to the same dispatch centre in Graz