Lars Borup is a paramedic and educator with more than 30 years of experience in prehospital emergency care. Starting as an EMT and later becoming a paramedic, he has held leadership roles in education, quality assurance, and system development at both regional and national levels. He has contributed to national quality improvement initiatives in stroke and cardiac arrest care, and to research on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and defibrillation outcomes. Lars has chaired the national prehospital database, co-founded the Danish Prehospital Society, and currently serves on its board.
He was previously the educational lead for the paramedic programme at University College of Northern Denmark, where he now collaborates with a dedicated development team to establish Denmark’s new bachelor-level paramedic education. This includes ongoing work on the national curriculum and academic regulations. His work focuses on integrating ambulance services with hospital-level care, emphasising the evolving role of prehospital services as a critical and autonomous part of the healthcare system.
Currently, Lars is in Australia assisting Dedalus with implementing the amPHI eCPR in South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS).
When the Ambulance Service Becomes the Pre-‘Hospital’
Over the past 10–15 years, Denmark has undergone a profound transformation in prehospital emergency care. What was once a traditional ambulance service with basic transport functions for adults and children has evolved into a fully integrated prehospital organisation—now structurally equivalent to a hospital within the Danish healthcare system.
This presentation will explore how this shift has expanded the role and responsibilities of ambulance services in Denmark. Key developments include the establishment of prehospital triage units, out-of-hours medical services, dedicated research departments, and new forms of collaboration with virtual hospital services. These digital partnerships enable earlier clinical decision-making, remote support, and data-driven coordination between prehospital and hospital-based care.
A central component of this transformation has been the systematic use of national prehospital data. As former co-chair of Denmark’s national clinical database for prehospital care under the Danish Clinical Quality Program (RKKP), Lars Borup will highlight how real-time data and national quality indicators have supported clinical governance, improved outcomes in areas such as cardiac arrest and stroke, and informed broader system development.
Drawing on leadership experience in education, system design, and quality improvement, the presentation offers perspectives for healthcare systems aiming to strengthen and redefine the role of prehospital care.