50 Ambulance Brigades to Operate in Yerevan from September

Currently, there are 42 ambulance brigades operating in Yerevan, up from the previous number of 35. Starting from September 1, the number of brigades will increase to 50. This was announced to reporters by the director of the Ambulance Service, Taguhi Stepanyan.

According to her, previously one brigade served 30,000 people, but now it will serve 20,000. Additionally, as noted by Health Minister Arsen Torosyan, another 14 brigades will be deployed in the regions. However, the organization of work in those areas will be slightly different; if the same 20,000 people live in 10 different villages that are quite far apart, one brigade will not be able to serve them all, and additional brigades may be deployed in such areas, regardless of the population size.

The increase in the number of brigades, as emphasized by Stepanyan, does not mean that non-urgent issues can call for ambulance services. On the contrary, people must understand that ambulance services should focus on patients who genuinely need immediate assistance, while others should visit a polyclinic or hospital on their own.

Currently, Yerevan’s Ambulance Service receives about 700 calls daily, but only 200 patients—or 30 percent—require hospitalization. According to specialists, if people only call for ambulance services when necessary, it will alleviate the burden on the brigades, allowing them to reach patients in need of urgent care more quickly.

As of now, the ambulance brigade is expected to reach a patient in need within 15 minutes (for issues such as strokes, heart attacks, injuries, etc.). If the matter is not urgent, the brigade may arrive later—30 or 40 minutes afterward.