The first ambulance-taxis in Europe are on the streets of Greece. They have drivers certified in First Aid and first aid kits. the company is called Help Taxi.
With drivers certified in First Aid, CPR and basic life support and “armed” with defibrillators, oxygen bottle and first aid kits, the ambulance-taxis aim to combine urban transport with medical transport.
Behind this original business idea is Evangelos Gerentes, who is a first aid instructor and has worked for years as a taxi driver, daily ethnos reported.
Speaking to Open TV, Gerentes said that the drivers cannot intervene in injuries.
Gerentes added that they are in a kind of cooperation with the state ambulance service EKAV and that they can intervene in case an ambulance is stuck on the streets due to traffic jams.
He added that the company’s taxis are included in the registry of the general secretariat of the Civil Protection, so that they can be requisitioned in case of natural disasters.
The report did not mention the cost of the service but you can get information at
Help Taxi phone: 210-220 00 20
It is recalled that in recent years, private ambulance services are being offered in the country, however, it happens that they also have no vehicles available in a case of emergency as the EKAV, too.
The most services we have in mind for Emergencies, the better, anyway.
*thumbnail: screen-shot
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2022/11/05/help-taxi-ambulanc-taxi-greece/&media=https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ambulancetaxisGR.png&description=The first ambulance-taxis in Europe are on the streets of Greece. They have drivers certified in First Aid and CPR and are "armed" with){kind=link}
If the Help Taxis work like the First Responders schemes on the U.K. then it has the potential to help many people even save lives.
Foe those who don’t know.
First Responders (FR) are a community centred scheme responsible to the NHS Ambulance Trust. When a 999 call is received the controller will despatch FR x 2; an ambulance is also despatched. On the majority of occasion the FR x 2 get to the patient before the ambulance does (no fault of the ambulance crew)bathed use their own cars but do not convey patients to hospital.. The FRs carry emergency equipment. As I said lives may be saved.
Speaking specifically about Rhodes, but would apply everywhere where emergency response might be compromised for variousreasons, I think it would be a good idea to set up schemes in strategic locations on the Island working in conjunction with the ambulance service and hospitals. However the schemes need to be fully supported and funded. In the U.K. the FR schemes are registered charities but are very well supported by the public.
The Help Taxis in Greece would presumably be able to convey certain patients to hospital. The taxis would need to be double crewed.
I was a FR for over 10 years.