Filenews 6 July 2023
The strengthening of the health sector and the proper functioning of the Ambulance Service play the primary role for the well-being of the citizens of our country, said the Minister of Health Dr. Popi Kanari, noting that this year there were 70,000 responses of the Ambulance Service.
In her address during the handover ceremony to the Ambulance Service, mountain rescue vehicles, Dr. Kanari pointed out that the 70,000 responses of the Ambulance Service in the year 2023 prove that it is the only Rescue Service in our country with such a large number of responses and life-saving interventions to citizens.
It is commonly accepted, he said, that emergency prehospital health care is based on the knowledge and skills required for immediate response and emergency management – it is one of the fields of science where a spectacular and rapid progress has been made in recent years.
He stressed that emergency management is often a complex situation and response mechanisms require properly premeditated steps and handling. These incidents, he noted, require a high degree of organization of services, as well as effective planning.
"The emergency treatment of patients requires military discipline, scientific flexibility and, above all, training, so that health professionals act and react to situations as they evolve, in a direct and effective way," he added.
When a person's life is threatened by illness or violent external factors, Dr. Kanari said, providing urgent prehospital and appropriate health care is lifesaving.
"The chain of survival starts from the identification of the emergency and immediate activation of the system, as well as the provision of pre-hospital care at the scene of the incident, resuscitation, stabilization and transfer to the nearest and most appropriate medical center," he added.
The rescue of patients under adverse conditions such as rescue in mountainous and inaccessible areas, he continued, makes the work of rescuers difficult and for this very reason, rescuers should have all the means and supplies to be able to act quickly and effectively.
"The donation of Mr. Andreas Psaltis with two mountain rescue vehicles will support the work of the Ambulance Service in rescuing citizens in mountainous and inaccessible areas since it will reduce response time and provide the means for immediate response to incidents on the spot," he added.
Addressing Mr. Psaltis, Dr. Kanari said that "your commendable and valuable contribution confirms the increased social responsibility and empathy of your company and is an example to follow. With this excellent initiative, you strengthen the Ambulance Service's response and decisively support the work of the ambulance crews, who, 24 hours a day, 24 days a year, fight to save human life."
