The sirens are going off about the state of ambulance services.
Demand for ambulances, which respond to calls made to the emergency hotline, 119, has grown rapidly along with the population's pace of aging. As ambulances have been mobilized with greater frequency, emergency services are taking longer on average to arrive at the scene. These delays could prove fatal, especially during critical situations in which seconds can mean the difference between life and death.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency has been working on the issue for years, trying to find a way of relieving the overburdened free service, operated by municipal fire stations and funded entirely by taxes. Experts have recommended that the government begin charging users as a way to discourage abuse and overuse.