Minuty mezi životem a smrtí - Proměny záchranné služby (1952-2003) (2026)

This collective monograph offers the first systematic analysis of the development of emergency medical services in the Czech lands, from their nationalisation in 1952 to their transformation into regional contributory organisations in 2003. The book, in Czech, maps the institutionalisation, professionalisation and modernisation of pre-hospital emergency care through an analysis of official discourse and the reflections of those involved. Its main focus is the period from 1952 to 2003, while placing these developments in the broader perspective of the longue durée beginning in the late eighteenth century, with emphasis on key milestones in the second half of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century. The thematic chapters examine the socio-professional identity of emergency teams, technological and material changes, the boundaries between pre-hospital and hospital care, ethical dilemmas associated with encounters with death, and gender aspects and popular-culture representations. Particular attention is paid to the memories of drivers, nurses and doctors, whose accounts help explain transformation processes not only in emergency medicine but also in the wider functioning of socialist and post-socialist healthcare.