Newsroom
The Council of Ministers has given the green light to new legislation that will create a National Ambulance Authority, Health Minister Neofytos Charalambides announced on Wednesday. The proposed law aims to close long-standing gaps in the regulation of pre-hospital care and establish a unified system for emergency medical response in Cyprus.
Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, Charalambides emphasized that the legislation is designed to ensure that anyone facing a sudden medical emergency or injury can receive rapid, coordinated, and high-quality assistance. According to the Minister, the initiative is expected to reduce preventable deaths, limit long-term disabilities, lower healthcare spending, and improve the country’s overall mortality indicators.
Under the bill, the National Ambulance Authority will be designated as essential national infrastructure operating under the Ministry of Health. Its responsibilities will include dispatching and transporting patients to the most suitable Accident and Emergency Department, responding to urgent and mass-casualty incidents, and managing both the national emergency call coordination center and the poison control center.
The legislation also sets rules for scheduled patient transport by licensed ambulance service providers and outlines how specialized pre-hospital emergency care should be delivered. Transitional measures ensure that the State Health Services Organization (OKYPY) will continue providing emergency pre-hospital services until it becomes financially and administratively autonomous, or until the end of 2026, whichever comes first.
Charalambides said the reform will modernize the country’s ambulance services, strengthen coordination and transparency, and ultimately create a cohesive system designed to better protect the public in times of crisis.
