Nicosia: The ambulance service attended to 422 emergency calls, with 172 originating from the Nicosia district, between December 24 and 26, according to Riana Constantinou, head of the service at the Ministry of Health. She shared this information with CNA on Saturday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the incidents encompassed chest pain, injuries, and illnesses, all of which the ambulance service addressed promptly. Constantinou noted that while there is typically an uptick in calls during the holiday season, this year saw a noticeable increase in the Nicosia district. Despite this rise, the situation remained within the usual holiday levels. Importantly, there have been no fatal traffic accidents reported between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Charalambos Harilaou, spokesperson for the State Health Services Organisation (OKYPY), told CNA that Accidents and Emergency Departments were on standby, and public hospitals had available beds to accommodate urgent cases. He mentioned that hospital traffic typically increases during the Christmas holiday season as both general practitioners and specialist doctors take leave. To alleviate congestion, the Organisation has been operating fast-track clinics to handle non-urgent cases.
According to Harilaou, while there has been an increase in incidents, these were not unusual. The incidents included strokes, heart attacks, some traffic accidents, and increased cases of influenza, but these were not at alarming levels compared to the rest of Europe.