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The ambulance is not coming: what to do

The state service splits calls into emergency and non-urgent. Emergency means a threat to life, with a 20-minute target. Non-urgent covers everything else, and waiting two hours or more is normal there. If you were told to wait, your call is in the second group — and that can be changed.

Call now +7 (985) 887-82-52dispatch line, 24/7 (Russian-speaking)

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What to do right now

Call again and describe a threat to life
Not "feels unwell" but "lost consciousness", "chest pain for 20 minutes", "cannot speak", "fever 40 with seizures". Dispatchers upgrade calls by symptoms.
Ask for the call number and time
This disciplines the process and is needed if you later complain.
Call both 103 and 112
They are separate systems in Moscow: 103 is the ambulance station, 112 is the single emergency service that passes calls on.
Help while you wait
Use the instructions on this site — stroke, heart attack, blood pressure, seizures. The first minutes often matter more than the crew’s speed.
If waiting is not an option, call a private crew
A private ambulance uses lights and sirens and generally arrives faster than a non-urgent state call: our arrival time inside the MKAD is 10–30 minutes.

Call an ambulance if

Any threat to life: unconscious, not breathing, chest pain, stroke signs, severe bleeding, seizures, throat swelling
The person deteriorates while you wait
A child under one year with fever, vomiting or lethargy
An elderly person after a fall, confused or breathless

What not to do

Do not hang up before the dispatcher — the questions decide the category
Do not invent symptoms: the crew will see the mismatch and the next call will be trusted less
Do not drive a suspected stroke or heart attack yourself if a crew is available
Do not cancel the state call when you order a private one — let both come

What the crew does

A private crew arrives within the time the dispatcher quoted
Examination, ECG, treatment on the spot to the same standards
Admission by dispatch order to a duty hospital under compulsory insurance when indicated
Contract, receipt, recorded calls

This page is for information and does not replace a medical examination. If the condition worsens, call the crew: +7 (985) 887-82-52.

This page in Russian: Russian version.

Questions

Where do I complain in Moscow?

To the Moscow Department of Health hotline and to Roszdravnadzor, quoting the call number, the time of the call and the time of arrival. Complaints improve the system but do not help you in the moment.

The state ambulance arrived first — what about the private one?

Cancel it immediately by phone. If the crew is already en route, a compensation fee applies under the contract, which is less than the call-out price.

Will a private ambulance take me to the same hospital?

In an emergency, yes — to the duty hospital by dispatch order. A specific hospital can be arranged privately.