Military help on ambulances in remote areas may stay
File photo.
A stopgap measure for dealing with serious ambulance crew shortages in remote parts of the country – and small islands especially – with help from the military may become a more permanent arrangement.
Under the initiative launched in July, 159 military personnel filled in as ambulance drivers at 57 remote health centers during the summer rush. This increased shifts by 30%, with the mixed ambulance crews carrying out 3,823 of a total of 5,965 transfers, according to Deputy Health Minister Marios Themistocleous.
“If this had not been implemented, over 1,500 transports would not have taken place or would have been seriously delayed,” he told Kathimerini.
