Yesterday's voting of the legislation providing for the establishment of a National Ambulance Agency aims, among other things, to decongest ambulances, to provide even faster service to patients who face urgent and life-threatening problems, but also to better and faster service to citizens who need an ambulance for their visits to hospitals, doctors and other health service structures.
According to the official data of the current Ambulance Service, a total of more than 95,000 transports are recorded in Cyprus every year. Of these, more than 45,000 are simple transfers related to "cold" incidents. For example, they concern either bedridden patients who need transport to hospitals or diagnostic centers for various tests, or transfer from hospitals to other medical centers to receive other services, etc.
With the enactment of the law and the transfer of ambulances from the State Health Services Organization to the National Ambulance Agency, the way is opened for the evaluation, based on defined criteria and conditions and the licensing of private ambulance service providers, with the aim of these bodies undertaking (within the framework of the General Health System) the transport of these patients and thus decongesting, the state ambulances that will be occupied exclusively with real emergencies.
The enactment of the law also marks the end of the operation of the Ambulance Service under the State Health Services Organization to which it had been transferred "temporarily", after the implementation of the GHS. According to the transitional provisions, the transfer to the National Ambulance Agency will take place on December 31, 2026, with OKYPY having already publicly declared its intention to claim compensation.
It is recalled that, speaking in Parliament, the executive director of the Organization, Kypros Stavrides, stated that OKYPY has invested "significant resources" in the Ambulance Service and that "these investments concerning equipment, staff, infrastructure and operating costs, must be calculated and compensated".
In essence and according to the law passed yesterday by the Parliament, the National Ambulance Agency 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 patients. At the same time, it will be responsible for the operation of an Accident and Emergency Management Center for coordination in emergency situations.
In addition to the general coordination, planning, organization and supervision of ambulance services, the new Body will also be responsible for the maintenance of 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 law also gives the competent authority control and inspection powers, as well as the possibility of imposing sanctions in cases of violations.
The law also provides for the operation of an Operational Call Coordination Center, through which calls will be managed and ambulances will be dispatched.
Also, the 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.
Finally, the establishment of an Advisory Committee for Emergency Prehospital Health Care is foreseen, with a purely advisory role. There was controversy regarding AKEL's amendment, which was ultimately rejected and concerned the ability of the public body to serve non-emergencies, instead of them being granted to the private sector.
