The Emergency Services in Mongolia are still very much below international standards. The better part of the medical services and equipment was provided by the soviets to the Mongolians. When they left in a rush in 1990 the medical infrastructure of the country collapsed. The majority of the equipment in the hospitals of Mongolia still dates back from the soviet times and it currently is in very bad condition.

It is only recently that some small improvements have been made to the training of the medical staff and the equipment available to them but this is merely a drop in the ocean. A number of NGO's and Charitable organizations are doing all they can to help and their efforts should be acknowledged and helped in any way possible. The Emergency Rooms in Ulaanbaatar lack in all but the most basic equipment, furthermore the simple rules of hygiene and sterilization are not followed properly. The hospitals are inefficient, crowded and lack in some major funding. Emergency care outside of Ulaanbaatar is non-existent. The majority of the population in the countryside still relies on the old traditional medicines based on plants and herbs. This situation needs to be brought to the attention of the wider world so that those conditions may be improved. We are happy to recommend a number of organizations who do excellent work in the medical field of Mongolia and are in urgent need of media attention as well as funding.

As far as tourists are concerned and expats, for immediate and emergency medical attention there is SOS clinic which has a very basic facility in Ulaanbaatar where they can stabilize most cases before sending them on to a location of medical excellence such as Hong Kong or Seoul. SOS clinic has a helicopter on standby at Ulaanbaatar airport and a plane in Beijing to take their emergencies back to their home countries. Dr Steve of SOS Clinic does a very good job there.