Objective To assess emergency ambulance workload in terms of patients treated, casemix and whether or not a member of the British Forces Community, between May 1995 and April 1998 within the British Eastern Sovereign Base area in Cyprus.

Methods Retrospective analysis of all incidents attended within the study period.

Results A total of 452 patients were treated of which 47% were members of the British Forces Community in Cyprus. 14 Deaths were attended of which 9 were due to road traffic accidents. Of all incidents attended 45% were following a road traffic accident and over three quarters of all patients treated had suffered trauma to some degree.

Conclusion The British military ambulance and supporting medical services located in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus provide a service to the British Forces Community, but the majority of patients treated are primarily the local Greek Cypriots with a sizeable minority of visiting tourists. Comment is made on the high incidence of morbidity and mortality from road traffic accidents within Cyprus as a whole.