Filenews 24 January 2026 - by Marilena Panayi
All ambulances under the supervision of the National Ambulance Agency. It will operate under the Ministry of Health and will be responsible for the planning, organization, coordination and supervision of all relevant services since it will evaluate and certify the suitability and safety of all ambulances serving Cypriot patients. At the same time, and according to the bill submitted to the Parliament, it will be responsible for the operation of an Accident and Emergency Management Center for coordination in emergency situations.
The submission of the bill to the Parliament is an important development for the Health sector as its enactment into law will regulate, for the first time, the operation of ambulances in Cyprus. Of course, the inclusion of the body under the Ministry of Health and not the establishment of an independent national authority, may once again be the subject of discussions between those involved, inside and outside Parliament.
According to the bill, the National Ambulance Agency, in addition to the general coordination, planning, organization and supervision of ambulance services, will also be responsible for keeping three different registers: Register of Ambulance Service Providers, Register of Ambulances and Register of Rescuers. Registration in the registers is a prerequisite for the legal provision of services, while conditions for education, professional competence and compliance with approved protocols are set. The bill also gives the competent authority control and inspection powers, as well as the possibility of imposing sanctions in cases of violations.
In practice, this means that emergency pre-hospital care will only be provided by registered and certified providers, while the provision of such services outside the framework established by law will not be allowed.
Particular emphasis is placed on operational coordination. Specifically, the operation of an Operational Call Coordination Center is foreseen, through which calls will be managed and ambulances dispatched.
At the same time, the National Ambulance Agency will ensure the operation of an Accident and Emergency Management Center, with the aim of operational coordination of emergency pre-hospital care in cases of mass accidents and emergencies.
Particularly important are the provisions of the bill, which concern the collection, recording and utilization of data from the operation of ambulance services.
In other words, it is provided for the maintenance of data on response times, incident management and the quality of the services provided, with the aim of continuously evaluating and improving the system.
As stated, this data could be used for policy planning, training and protocol review purposes. The bill makes it clear that upgrading urgent prehospital care is not limited to the operational dimension, but is directly linked to accountability, transparency and systematic monitoring of the effectiveness of the new framework.
The bill also provides for the establishment of an Advisory Committee for Emergency Prehospital Health Care, with a purely advisory role. Its composition includes representatives of state services, health professionals, as well as a representative of the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations (OSAK), institutionally ensuring the representation of patients.
As far as the transition to the new system is concerned, the bill includes transitional provisions. Specifically, it is provided that the existing Ambulance Services of the public sector will continue to operate until December 31, 2026, in order to give the necessary time for the full implementation of the new framework without creating gaps in coverage.
