Disagreements over the operation of ambulances and the management approach have started to surface even before the drafting of the relevant bill, with the confrontation likely to intensify in the coming period.
If the President of the Republic does not soon clarify his position, as he promised a year ago, and if the Presidential Palace insists on its initial stance of operating a simple ambulance department within the Ministry of Health, a clash between the Government and organised patients’ associations cannot be ruled out.
CyFPA (Patient Associations of Cyprus/OSAK) has already clearly stated its position on the matter just a month ago.
Private ambulance owners also seem determined to claim a share of the General Healthcare System (GHS), publicly asserting that their priority is to be included in GHS regardless of the direction the Ministry of Health takes with the bill.
At the same time, they argue for the involvement of private ambulances in transporting emergency cases, a proposal rejected by all other stakeholders who emphasise that emergency pre-hospital care is the responsibility of the State.
It is worth noting that the disagreement between the Government and other stakeholders revolves around whether ambulances should operate under the Ministry of Health or an independent Authority, with CyFPA also suggesting the possibility of establishing a Deputy Ministry for Crises, which would include the Fire Service, the Ambulance Service, and the Civil Defence Department, following the examples of other advanced countries in pre-hospital care.
The issue of ambulance operation and management resurfaced in the public debate yesterday following a meeting between private owners and the Minister of Health on Monday.
In statements to the state radio, the president of the Private Ambulance Owners’ Association, Roulis Christou, argued that while the European Union promotes public-private collaboration, the Ministry of Health has opted to create a monopoly for SHSO (State Health Services Organisation) (under which ambulances have been temporarily operating since 2020), resulting in patients not being adequately served according to their preferences.
Christou also noted that SHSO ambulances are dispatched to private events or football matches, while eighty private ambulances remain idle.
These statements provoked a reaction from SHSO, which emphasised in an official statement that “emergency pre-hospital healthcare is about saving lives, not profitability.” It added that “the provision of emergency pre-hospital care by the State is the international practice, which ensures patients’ safety, and we fully concur.”
SHSO characterised the private ambulance owners’ association president’s statement as “unjustified and scientifically unfounded,” arguing that “any deviation from the current policy will put human lives at risk.” It concluded by stating that “the Ambulance Service and emergency pre-hospital healthcare fall outside the realm of business activities and profitability, as their primary aim is to save the lives of our fellow citizens.”
It is noted that in the study-proposal submitted by CyFPA to the President of the Republic last March, the involvement of private ambulances in transporting patients, although deemed necessary, is limited to non-emergency cases only.
