Greece will launch a new nationwide health services hotline on Tuesday, replacing around 100 existing numbers in an effort to streamline public access to healthcare information and services, the Health Ministry announced on Monday.
The new number, 1566, will be free of charge and available to all citizens for non-emergency inquiries related to the healthcare system. The emergency number 166, for ambulance and urgent medical assistance, will remain operational and unaffected.
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said the initiative was inspired by the success of the Ministry of Labor’s 1535 line and aims to simplify communication between the public and the country’s health system.
“In essence, we are building a new gateway to navigate the system and make our citizens’ lives easier,” Georgiadis said during a press briefing alongside Alternate Finance Minister Nikos Papathanasis.
Initially, the service will provide information on pharmacy and hospital duty schedules, assistance with e-appointments through the IDIKA platform, and appointment booking with all Primary Health Care providers, contracted EOPYY doctors, personal doctors, and public mental health facilities. From September, hospital appointments within the National Health System (ESY) will also be included.
Other services will include updates on vaccine delivery and availability, access to high-cost medication, general information on travel medicine, connection to mental health support lines, and the lodging of complaints or feedback.
Georgiadis also emphasized that the new line will proactively reach out to citizens to inform them of healthcare services they are entitled to.
“This tool will continue to evolve,” Georgiadis said, adding that once funding from the EU Recovery Fund ends, the project will be maintained through the Health Ministry’s regular budget.
Alternate Minister Papathanasis highlighted the strong inter-ministerial cooperation and technical planning required to bring the project to life, noting the central role of the Recovery Fund in supporting the effort.
