OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe the current situation of prehospital care in a small region of Hungary and modify the treatment capacity if necessary. METHODS: Retrospective analysis has been carried out on stroke patients’ records (n=394) reported to the National Ambulance Service in Nagykanizsa station serving for 52,000 citizens in this region of Hungary. We analyzed the average number of the patients monthly, the time spent with stabilizing the patient on the spot, the treatment procedures, and the patient outcome at admittance to the hospital. Data collection was carried out between 2005- 2007 and statistical analysis as one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed with SPSS 14.0. RESULTS: The gender-distribution of the treated patients was almost the same in each year (46.4% female, 53.6% male). The average age was 63.2 years. In two third (62%) of all cases the patients were treated by a physician or a licensed paramedic on the spot. The time between the call and the admission to ED differed according to the patients’ severity and the distance of the location (Tmin:10, Tmax:94 min.; Mean: 35.71; SD:16.74). The car with physician or paramedic spend significantly more time with patient stabilization (p=0,023) than the other cars with nurses. The occurrence of stroke cases cumulated in Spring (from March to June). The majority of the emergency calls (72%) came between 6 am – 10 pm when the Ambulance Station when it is staffed with 2 more ambulance cars above the 2 24 hour on-duty cars. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed a more frequent use of ambulance service in Spring time of the year and in the daytime of the weekdays in case of stroke. Although the time spent with these patients out-of-hospital differs in a wide range, the better staffed can handle stroke in time. METHODS: