There is intense discussion regarding the operations of the National Ambulance Service, with Riana Konstantinou, Head of the Ambulance Service, explaining on the Alpha Summer program how the reform will strengthen healthcare delivery.
“This is not simply an administrative change or a name change. It is a change that citizens themselves—the patients themselves—will feel,” Ms. Konstantinou clarified.
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She emphasized that ambulance crews are going above and beyond, but added that what was missing was a legislative framework that “could incorporate not only emergency response ambulances but also private-sector ambulances, which until now had not been integrated and over which there was no oversight regarding thehealth care they provided. There was no mechanism or system in place to allow them to register so they could work legally in our country, and we could not ensure either the quality or the safety of the services.”
At the same time, as Ms. Konstantinou explained, the National Agency will enable better development throughout the country and “cover wider areas where we might have had longer ambulance response times, so that we can minimize them, reduce it, and further increase the survival chances of patients.”
At the same time, the goal is to ensure there are no delays in transporting patients to scheduled appointments.
“Private-sector or private-service ambulances should also be able to respond on an equal footing with regard to non-emergency transports, so that we can have a proper, integrated emergency response system for the benefit of citizens.”
In this way, the Ministry of Health will be able to maintain a registry and monitor the services provided, for both public and private ambulances.
“Citizens will continue to call 112 in the event of an emergency, to which the National State Ambulance Service will respond.”
For all other non-emergency calls, citizens will be able to call a private ambulance.
As Ms. Konstantinou explained, “The ambulances that will respond to emergency calls are yellow. This will allow us to distinguish them from ambulances providing scheduled transport, which will be white, so that citizens can understand when they are in danger, when emergency responses are taking place, and when they are not.”
