Emergency medical service to receive 100 new ambulances; 50 more planned for 2027
The Ministry of Health announced 100 new ambulances and is negotiating procurement of 50 additional vehicles in 2027 to improve response capacity.
On October 20, 2026 the Ministry of Health announced that the emergency medical service will receive 100 new ambulances, and that talks are underway to procure an additional 50 vehicles in 2027. Authorities say the purchase aims to bolster capacity for urgent interventions and speed up patient transfers.
The newly procured ambulances are fitted with modern medical equipment, including ECG devices, defibrillators, respiratory support equipment and systems for regulating ventilation and climate control.
At present the emergency services operate about 140 active vehicles. Of the 100 new units, 60 are intended to expand capacity while the remaining 40 will replace older, worn ambulances; the total number of active vehicles is expected to reach about 200.
Allocation, training and operational changes
Distribution of the new vehicles will follow predefined criteria: population size, the territory covered by the health institution, annual number of interventions, number of medical transports and the condition of existing vehicles. The ambulances will enter service only after medical teams complete the necessary training on the new equipment.
Beyond renewing the fleet, the Ministry of Health plans organisational reforms of the emergency medical service. Measures include separating Emergency Medical Service from Health Centre – Skopje as an independent service, with the possibility of applying that model nationally. The ministry also intends to introduce unified national triage standards, establish a national dispatch centre to improve coordination, and gradually integrate paramedics into emergency teams.
With the planned purchase of 50 additional vehicles in 2027, officials expect further renewal and stabilisation of the nationwide emergency vehicle fleet.
Photo: press material from the event
