Egypt’s Ambulance Authority says it is teaming up with the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to track and block phone numbers used for prank calls to its emergency hotline, after reporting that such calls account for roughly 86 percent of all incoming calls.
Amr Rashid, the head of the authority, urged the media to help raise public awareness about the harm caused by misusing emergency lines, stressing that it diverts time and resources away from people who need immediate help.
Rashid made the remarks during a discussion with health journalists at the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate on Sunday, 9 August, where he outlined the authority’s efforts to improve public awareness of ambulance services during crises and disasters.
He said that, in cooperation with NTRA, the authority is monitoring prank calls and blocking the originating numbers.
He also highlighted confusion among some members of the public about what ambulance services are free and what services may require charges.
According to Rashid, any service directly related to saving lives is provided at no cost. This includes ambulance and rescue services for road accident victims and anyone who requires emergency medical care, with patients transported to the nearest hospital in such cases.
By contrast, other types of non-emergency medical transport require patients to cover part of the cost, including transfers from hospitals to their homes, to radiology centers, or back to hospitals for follow-up appointments.
Rashid said the state subsidizes these services by about 85 percent, while dialysis patients and low-income cancer patients are exempt from fees to reduce the financial burden on vulnerable groups.
Rashid explained that the authority will establish a direct communication channel between its media center and journalists so urgent appeals highlighted by news platforms and websites can be referred to quickly.
The authority’s figures indicate the scale of the problem: it receives close to 100,000 calls per day, and only about 14 percent are considered real emergencies at best, meaning most calls are non-urgent or abusive.
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