Probe into ambulance which allegedly refused to transport woman

Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Wednesday he has asked for a second report into the death of a 33-year-old woman who was allegedly denied the use of a state ambulance to the Paphos general hospital earlier in the week, but added that it appeared there was no wrongdoing.

The minister said on Tuesday he had asked for a report of events following claims that an ambulance crew refused on Monday to transport a 33-year-old woman, who had been found passed out in a Paphos apartment, because her pants were soiled.

A private ambulance was then called in to transfer the woman to the town’s general hospital, where, upon arrival, she was pronounced dead. Her death was reportedly due to the bleeding of oesophageal varices.

Ioannou said on Wednesday that he was not satisfied by the report that he received and has asked for a second one, asking for further explanations on a number of points.

“At a first glance, there seems to be no wrongdoing,” Ioannou said, but called for patience until the process was completed.

Tissue was also taken for toxicological and histopathological tests.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.