A total of 128,178 ambulance calls in Cyprus were managed by the Ambulance Control Centre between January 2025 and June 2026, with the first half of 2026 recording an increase compared with the same period last year.
Despite the rise in cases, available data shows that ambulance response times remained relatively stable, with the monthly median ranging between 9.67 and 10.82 minutes. The overall median response time for the 18-month period was 10.33 minutes.
First half of 2026 records 2.4% increase
During 2025, the Ambulance Control Centre handled 85,213 incidents, while a further 42,965 were recorded in the first six months of 2026.
Compared with the first half of 2025, when 41,947 incidents were recorded, cases increased by 1,018, representing a rise of 2.4%.
The largest annual increase during the first half of 2026 was recorded in April, when incidents rose from 6,415 in 2025 to 7,027, an increase of 9.5%.
June followed with a 5.3% rise, from 7,061 incidents in 2025 to 7,433 in 2026.
January was the only month in the first half of 2026 to record a decrease, with incidents falling by 3.7%, from 7,627 to 7,341.
Almost four in 10 cases involve patient transfers
The increase was not limited to emergency calls.
Emergency incidents rose by around 1.6%, from 26,341 in the first half of 2025 to 26,761 in the same period of 2026.
Other categories, including patient transfers, recorded a larger increase of around 3.8%, rising from 15,606 to 16,204.
Across the entire period, 80,455 incidents, or 62.8%, were classified as emergency calls.
Simple patient transfers accounted for 47,437 cases, representing 37% of the total workload. This means almost 4 out of every 10 cases managed by the Ambulance Service involved transporting patients to or from hospitals, institutions or healthcare facilities.
In 2025, a total of 31,334 transfers were carried out, averaging around 86 per day. During the first six months of 2026, 16,103 transfers were recorded, averaging around 89 daily.
Geography affects response times
The report highlights differences in ambulance response times depending on location.
Paphos recorded the fastest median response time at 8.25 minutes, followed by Larnaca at 9.13 minutes.
The median response time was 10.37 minutes in Limassol, 10.75 minutes in Famagusta and 11.68 minutes in Nicosia.
Mountain areas recorded the longest median response time at 12.82 minutes, a difference of 4.57 minutes compared with Paphos.
However, the report notes that stations handling the highest number of cases did not necessarily have the longest response times. Stations in areas such as Latsia, Strovolos, Engomi and Polemidia maintained comparable response times despite their high workload.
Falls and breathing problems among most common cases
The most common category of calls during the 18-month period involved people reporting that they “did not feel well”, with 21,554 cases recorded.
This was followed by falls with 10,703 cases, respiratory problems and shortness of breath with 9,286 cases, road collisions with 7,169 cases and fainting episodes with 5,576 cases.
Other frequent incidents included chest pain, unconsciousness, bleeding, strokes and seizures.
The overall pattern remained relatively stable between 2025 and the first half of 2026.
Nearly 6 in 10 cases classified as urgent
Yellow-category incidents, covering urgent or potentially urgent cases, accounted for 46.3% of the total, with 59,388 cases.
Purple-category cases, mainly involving transfers, accounted for 47,559 incidents, or 37.1%.
Red-category incidents, involving life-threatening emergencies, totalled 17,715 cases, representing 13.8%.
Overall, yellow and red categories accounted for 80,455 emergency calls, meaning around 6 out of every 10 incidents involved urgent or potentially urgent situations.
High accuracy in telephone triage
The overall agreement between the initial telephone triage protocol and the final assessment recorded by ambulance crews reached 98%.
During the first half of 2025, agreement remained above 99%, while similar results continued until April 2026, ranging between 97.99% and 99.20%.
However, the rate dropped in May 2026 to 87.94% and to 89.37% in June.
The report suggests the decline may be linked to changes in coding systems, different names for similar protocols, or issues with the consistency of recorded data.
Also read: myHealth@CY app brings emergency button to mobile phones
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