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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-01-17Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PM to visit Ankara on January 23Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will visit Turkey on January 23-25 in response to an invitation by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros announced on Thursday, stating that the two leaders will discuss bilateral and international issues. Antonaros commented that the Greek government treats all issues of national interest with a sense of responsibility when asked whether Karamanlis will raise the Cyprus issue in the talks with the Turkish prime minister. Referring to the prime minister's itinerary in Turkey, particularly if he will visit the islands of Imvros and Tenedos, Antonaros said that an announcement will be made as soon as the itinerary is finalised. Greece seeks the constant improvement of bilateral relations and we are working toward this direction, replied the alternate government spokesman to a question on what the Greek side expected from the prime minister's visit.PM visits EKAB headquarters Earlier, Karamanlis announced the expansion of the National Health Operations Centre for the ambulance serivce EKAB throughout the country, during a visit to the Centre now housed in the facilities formerly used as the Press Centre for the 2004 Olympic Games. Karamanlis said that the next Centre will be opened in Thessaloniki, while Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos elaborated that the target was to open up new centres in Thessaloniki and Patras in the next year, and in the remaining five administrative regions of the country by the end of 2009. Thus, he said, a network of direct communication among all the Centres will be established, aimed at the best possible coordination of the health services in the event of major disasters and crises, such as in the case of a pandemic, for example. Karamanlis, accompanied by the health minister, visited the Centre in the morning, where he was briefed by Centre director Professor Panos Efstathiou. The premier observed an EKAB report to the Centre via a direct link. There were 75 EKAB ambulances, 10 EKAB mobile units and three EKAB motorcyles on the streets at the time, while an airlift of a patient by an EKAB helicopter was also underway at the same time, with the Centre seeking a bed for the patient in an intensive care unit. A meeting followed at the Centre, during which Karamanlis was briefed on the coordinating body's activities over the past year. Asked what the next steps would be, Karamanlis was informed that the four-digit telephone number 1535 used to schedule patient appointments with doctors in hospitals would be extended from the 40 hospitals currently in the system to all 132 of the country's state hospitals by Easter, thus cutting the current three-month waiting list for such appointments by half. It was pointed out to Karamanlis that making such an appointment in Britain required a five-month wait. Avramopoulos said that the Centre, following its networking and expansion throughout the entire country, would become one of the best and most reliable problem management systems not only in Europe but in the world. Karamanlis said afterwards that many and important things have been achieved in the field of health, but added that much remained to be done in order to meet the expectations and fair demands of the citizens. Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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