Only four of Cyprus's 13 emergency motorcycles are running
Nine rapid-response motorcycles are parked because of staff shortages, the Ambulance Service says, even though the two-wheeled units have handled 350 emergencies.
Nine of the 13 emergency response motorcycles used by the Ambulance Service are not in use, the service's head Riana Constantinou has told Phileleftheros, citing a lack of personnel. The four machines that do run — two based in Nicosia and two in Limassol — are kept on the road only through overtime.
These units, which carry defibrillators, medicines and trauma kit, let paramedics and nurses cut through congestion and start treatment before a regular ambulance gets there. According to Constantinou, the motorcycles have so far been sent to 350 incidents.
She said the busiest month for the units is January, when callouts can reach three times the level of quieter months, though she stressed that the reasons for the spike have not been studied.
"Even arriving three or four minutes earlier in cases of stroke or a cardiac emergency is valuable in saving a life," Constantinou said.
What it means for residents
For anyone living in or visiting Nicosia and Limassol, the practical effect is that the fastest tier of the emergency system is thinner than it looks on paper — and outside those two districts there is no motorcycle cover at all. In a cardiac arrest or a stroke, the minutes these crews save are the ones that matter, so the shortage is felt most in exactly the situations where speed counts.
- Know what to expect. A motorcycle responder may not be available in your area; call 112 and give a clear address and landmark so a conventional ambulance is routed without delay.
- Clear the way. In heavy traffic and narrow old-town streets, make room for two-wheeled responders as you would for a full-size ambulance.
- Watch the debate. The service says it now has data to argue for permanent staffing rather than overtime; whether that funding appears will shape response times in the cities.
This text is written from the source article and is not a translation of it.
