In many cases the doctor’s advice by phone will help solve the problem, and ambulance will not be necessary, according to the Ministry.

The Ministry of Healthcare plans to open the call-center, where it will be possible to have doctor’s consultation instead of calling ambulance, the Acting Minister of Healthcare Uliana Suprun said to LB.ua, describing the first measures, which she intends to implement on her post, the Correspondent.net reports.

“Last year, in Ukraine there were more than 9 mln of ambulance calls. And only 2.5 mln patients were hospitalized. Others were either provided medical assistance, or ambulance was not necessary in deed. That’s why we would like to organize a call-center, where people can call and consult with doctors instead of calling ambulance immediately. We expect that in many cases the doctor’s advice by phone will help solve the problem, and the ambulance won’t be necessary”, she said.

Meanwhile, Suprun intends to organize courses for providing first aid for policemen and firemen.

“In order everybody can come to a policeman or a fireman and ask for help. Or if police or firefighters are the first at the scene, where somebody is injured, they’ll be able to provide first aid – this is very important and someone’s life very often depends on it. We also plan to work with the crews of ambulance cars in order to upgrade their qualification and level of proficiency. And with personnel at hospitals, where the ambulance brings patients”, Suprun told.

“Currently people usually do not have their doctor. They are calling their friends and searching for doctors. But even if they have their family doctor – they have to come to the clinic and be stuck in the waiting room for hours. We are negotiating with young people, who launch the start-up called “Clinic Without Queuing”. The idea is that you can set up an appointment with general practitioner at the clinic or specialized doctor through the system via internet or by phone for concrete time. This will save time for people. In addition, people will be able to see what doctors have more patients and which provide probably better services”, Suprun said.