Filenews 24 September 2025 - by Marilena Panayi
The Health Insurance Organization has set up an emergency hotline that will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays, with the aim of serving without delay all incidents that will be characterized as "life-threatening to the patient" by doctors and will be deemed necessary to transfer them abroad.
Hospitals and doctors have been informed about the process and the telephone number they will use and, at the same time, the team of officers who will be on standby duty around the clock has been set up in the HIO.
"We believe that we are ready to undertake the program of sending patients abroad after we have completed all the necessary preparation," the senior official of the HIO, Dr. Monica Kyriakou, told "F", explaining, at the same time, the procedure that will be followed in emergency and life-threatening incidents.
Round-the-clock patient service, after all, was one of the issues that had previously occupied the public debate around the transfer of the relevant program from the Ministry of Health to the HIO.
"As we have already announced, the category in which the cases will be classified will be determined by the doctor. That is, the doctor will determine whether an incident is 'life-threatening', 'urgent' or 'normal'." If the doctor deems it a life-threatening situation, the special mechanism will be activated.
"Because most life-threatening incidents occur in the Accident and Emergency Departments and in the event that a patient is deemed to need urgent and specialized care, the A&E should – as is the case today – first communicate with the other available hospitals that have A&E within the GHS. If a hospital can serve the patient, then he will be transferred without delay. If there is no necessary specialization in Cyprus, then the hospital to which the patient has been transferred will contact the HIO at a specific telephone number, which doctors and hospitals already know."
During the 24-hour period, an HIO officer and a supervisor will be on standby duty and will respond without delay to doctors' calls.
"When we are informed, the doctor's request for an immediate need to transfer the patient abroad, the expert group set up by the HIO will be activated. In these cases, however, there is no obligation to wait for all the members of the expert group to respond to us. You realize that when an incident occurs at night or on a holiday, it is not always possible for all team members to respond immediately. That is why, even if we receive a positive opinion, the process will proceed to the next stage."
That is, the mechanism for locating an available and suitable hospital will be activated and in cases where it is deemed necessary, a company available for the air ambulance will also be sought.
"This whole process must be completed within hours," said the senior HIO official.
As Dr. Kyriakou added, in conclusion, "our goal is to be able to serve these patients without the slightest delay. For this reason, a supervisor will be on standby duty – along with the officers – so that there are no delays in terms of the various approvals, etc. that will need to be given in order for our patient to travel."
It is recalled that based on the planning of the HIO, the cases will be served within the time frame that has been determined depending on their categorization by the doctors.
For cases that are considered normal (i.e. do not require emergency management and do not endanger the patient's life), the evaluation process will be completed within 15 days.
For emergencies, which are also not life-threatening, the assessment should be completed within four (4) days and the process within seven (7) days. For incidents classified as life-threatening, the assessment will be carried out within 24 hours.
For the implementation of the program for sending patients abroad, the HIO has compiled a list of cooperating hospitals abroad. The relevant list will be posted on the GHS website.
