Cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill which foresees the creation of a national ambulance agency.

The move was announced by Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides, who said that it “aims to fill the legislative gap in the provision of pre-hospital care”.

“The passage of this bill into law will ensure that people who face a sudden illness or injury will have immediate, properly coordinated, and quality assistance, with the aim of reducing loss of life, preventing disabilities, reducing the cost of healthcare, and improving the morality rates of the population,” he said.

He added that the new agency will fall under the umbrella of the health ministry, and that it will be “responsible for transporting” patients to “the nearest and most appropriate accident and emergency units”.

Additionally, he said, the agency will be responsible for the operation of poison centres and the ambulance call centre.

He then said that the bill includes regulations related to patient transport by existing registered ambulance service providers and “transitional arrangements” which foresee that ambulance services will continue to be provided by the state health services organisation (Okypy) until either December 31 next year or when Okypy gains “financial and administrative autonomy”.

“This is an important regulation which enhances the coordination, transparency, and quality of emergency pre-hospital care services and creates and integrated, modern ambulance system for the benefit of all,” he said.

The idea for the creation of a publicly run national ambulance agency had first been suggested by the federation of Cyprus patients’ associations (Osak), and came after Limassol medical centre director Andreas Pantazis had called for private ambulances to be included in Gesy.

In an explosive letter written to then health minister Michael 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.

With this in mind, he added, “once there is a demand and the state’s ambulances cannot respond, it is the state’s obligation to provide solutions, and solutions by which the patients will not be at risk.”