A Unified Emergency Medical Assistance System Will Operate in Armenia by 2025

In today's government meeting, a decision was made to transform the emergency services in Gyumri into a national emergency medical service, which will be transferred to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia.

The executive believes that this will enhance not only the quality of emergency medical services provided to the population in Gyumri but also in the regions.

The fact is that currently, the emergency call number '1-03' operates only in Yerevan. Similar services also exist in Gyumri's 'Emergency Medical Assistance Station' LLC in Shirak Province and in the medical centers of Masis and Artashat in Ararat Province.

However, in regional medical institutions, the emergency medical service predominantly lacks a dispatch service, resulting in emergency calls often going unanswered.

Moreover, when citizens call the '1-03' hotline, they connect to the Yerevan emergency services, from where the call is forwarded to the relevant regional medical institution. This mechanism prolongs the time taken to receive and respond to calls, which in turn reduces the effectiveness of the services provided.

To address these issues and improve the responsiveness, accessibility, and quality of emergency medical services, the government of Armenia has decided to create a unified emergency medical service that operates throughout the entire country.

The first phase of the reform will establish a centralized management (dispatch) national center through which calls can be received, processed, and relayed to the appropriate teams. It will monitor all calls' progression, duration, vehicle arrival times, and track vehicle movements during service execution, directing the nearest available ambulance crew to the emergency site. If necessary, it will organize and manage the process of transferring patients to inpatient care, regardless of administrative boundaries.

In the second phase, the service crews will be consolidated into a single entity, ensuring efficient utilization of a unified fleet of vehicles and workforce. The deadline for the implementation of the centralized emergency medical service has been set for 2025.