Steps were taken on Thursday towards the creation of a new ambulance service, with Health Minister Michael Damianos attending the House health committee to put forward his position on the matter.

After the committee meeting, he said he had informed members of the government’s intention to finalise the bill to create a new ambulance service, and a national ambulance authority, thus removing ambulances from the state health services (Okypy)’s control.

He said the bill to do this will soon be submitted to the legal service to be reviewed and will then be submitted to parliament before the end of the year.

“The bill will cover both the manning of ambulances with specialised personnel as well as the categories of ambulances, and what each category can provide in the context of its licence category,” he said.

To this end, he said the committee had also discussed the difference between emergency ambulances and patient transfer ambulances, with private ambulances to be able to carry out patient transfer services.

“In this way, the emergency service itself will be decongested, facilitating a more efficient operation,” he said.

He then reiterated the importance of separating emergency ambulances from patient transfer services, saying, “when you call 112 for an immediate ambulance it is different from a scheduled transfer.”

Speaking after the meeting, committee chairman and Disy MP Efthimios Diplaros said he expects the ambulance authority to be entirely independent and not linked to the health ministry.

“We do not want another service which operates under the health ministry,” he said.

Akel MP Christos Christofias said he is “in favour of the creation of an independent authority for patients’ interests”.

Damianos’ proposal seems to largely satisfy the wishes of the federation of Cyprus patients’ associations (Osak), which had earlier in the year suggested that a national ambulance authority be created.

In July, Osak representative Miltos Miltiadous had said a lack of government action on the issue was making the federation “uncomfortable”, having already submitted to the government three options for how a national ambulance could operate.

The first option would entail the creation of a deputy ministry or an “independent crisis service”, which would have as part of its scope the operation of all emergency services, while the second-best would be that favoured by Diplaros – the creation of an independent ambulance authority.

The third option would be to create an ambulance department under the health ministry’s control.

Osak’s intervention came days after Limassol medical centre director Andreas Pantazis had called for private ambulances to be included in Gesy.

In an explosive letter written to Damianos, he said the current system, whereby private hospitals which join Gesy are obliged to have their own ambulances but cannot use them for Gesy purposes is “discriminatory” and “endangers lives”.

Under this system, private hospitals which have Gesy patients who require ambulance transport request an ambulance from Gesy, which then sends an ambulance operated by Okypy.

“We consider it unacceptable and unthinkable to have ambulances and not be entitled to serve our patients with them, expecting Okypy to serve us with daily delays and be waiting hours for an ambulance,” Pantazis said.