On duty with the Soviets' efficient ambulance corps
Throughout most of the Soviet Union, dialing the number 03 brings almost instant medical help.
This emergency service works best in Moscow, where 800 ambulances staffed by 2,000 doctors, 5,500 medical assistants and 2,400 drivers answer an average of 8,000 calls a dayat no charge. TIME Reporter-Researcher John Kohan rode with one ambulance team for part of its twelve-hour tour and filed this report:
3:35 p.m. A call comes in to the central ambulance station at 10 Koptelsky Lane. One of 34 telephone operators notes on a lavender slip of paper the time, name, address...
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