Nicosia, Cyprus. Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides on Friday praised the work of the ambulance service during a visit to the ambulance coordination centre. He described its front-line role as invaluable.
Minister highlights importance of rapid response
Charalambides said “the immediate and effective response is what makes the difference between life and death.” He said the visit was intended to thank staff for their daily work and to assess whether further support and upgrades are needed for the services provided.
Service outlines national role and response-time target
Ambulance service head Riana Constantinou said the service has a national role in disasters, crises and everyday emergencies. She said there is no other rescue corps of health professionals besides the ambulance service.
Constantinou said the service aims to reduce response times to incidents to under eight minutes. She said delays can occur when ambulances are already attending other life-threatening emergencies, adding that such delays are common internationally due to insufficient ambulances to handle simultaneous incidents.
Reforms and call volumes
The visit took place amid ongoing reforms to create a national ambulance agency under the health ministry. Non-emergency transfers rose from 5,000 in 2020 to 45,000 in 2025, while emergency calls remained stable at around 41,200.
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