Rytis Malašauskas, who has worked as a paramedic for 30 years: not everyone can handle the demands of this profession

Friday, Mar 7, 2025

Delfi

Paramedic roles are demanding; Lithuania improves system, while Bulgaria faces severe staffing and regulation issues.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Emergency medical services in Lithuania are improving, having consolidated from 49 separate units into one unified system since July 1, 2023, with standardized care and improved working conditions. New regulations allow dispatchers to categorize calls based on patient condition, aiming to improve response times. However, the field is challenging; experienced paramedics note the high stress and difficulty of the work, leading some to leave. Furthermore, about 40% of students drop out or fail to meet competency standards due to the program’s complexity. In contrast, Bulgaria faces severe issues with its emergency medical services, lacking proper regulation for paramedics, resulting in long wait times for ambulances despite having trained personnel. Bulgarian paramedic organizations are demanding professional recognition and better regulation, threatening to appeal to the European Commission. In Lithuania, while two levels of paramedics exist, there is a recognized shortage of advanced emergency medical specialists, which experts believe is due to insufficient training capacity.

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