The new national health hotline “1566” received hundreds of calls yesterday, on its first day of operation. The four-digit number was presented the day before by the political leadership of the Ministry of Health and constitutes a multi-layered service, of which only the basic “core” has gone live so far.

For now, citizens calling the new free line have five options. The first concerns appointments with contracted doctors of the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY), in public health facilities, as well as appointments for diagnostic tests at public facilities. Callers can also receive information about on-duty hospitals and pharmacies, free preventive screenings available under the “Prolamvano” program, prescription of medications and tests, and other services of the National Health System (ESY).

Through “1566”, citizens can also get information on afternoon surgeries, waiting times, and costs. There is a dedicated option for EOPYY-related matters, such as the home delivery of High-Cost Medicines (HCM). Given the high load on EOPYY’s call center and the recent disruptions resulting in citizens being unable to reach a representative, “1566” now serves as an additional communication channel for HCM. The line also provides information on the European Health Insurance Card and travel medicine.

These initial functions will remain in place until September, when the service will expand to include hospital appointments. Specifically, for booking a hospital visit, citizens will call “1566” instead of the existing health line “1535”, which has been plagued with issues—such as hospitals only releasing their appointment schedules at the end of the previous month. Citizens are often unaware of this and are told by “1535” that no appointments are available, not realizing that they need to call on specific days when slots open. In many cases, a direct hospital call is also ineffective if the hospital isn’t part of “1535”. These hurdles will be resolved with the new hotline, designed to offer high-level services to the public.

The fragmentation of health services was one of the primary reasons behind the development of the “1566” concept: to prevent citizens from getting lost among numerous lines and sources of information, and instead offer one number for anything health-related, with proper redirection.

The Next Phases

After hospitals are integrated, between October and December, information and support services will expand further with the introduction of field officers. These individuals will guide citizens through healthcare facilities and services. The goal is not only for citizens to reach out to the system but also for the system to proactively contact citizens — for instance, “1566” representatives will call to inform them about health initiatives and programs like free preventive screenings or the option for afternoon surgeries.

From January to June 2026, the third and final phase of the new service will be rolled out. During this period, all services of the Ministry of Health, along with those of supervised agencies and structures, will be integrated. Once fully operational, “1566” is expected to replace over 100 existing health-related phone lines – currently, mental health services alone operate around 40 separate numbers. The potential of the new system is substantial. According to Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, “1566” can handle up to 11,000 calls per day and respond within seconds.