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It’s been three weeks since the General Healthcare System (Part I) was officially introduced to the general public and the scheme, better known as “Gesy” has not been short of troubles and teething problems.
Such technical glitches are normal and very often accounted for, considering the grand task and universality of its functions.
But when the software platform supporting the GHS finds illogical obstacles, then one can only wonder where our 40 million euros went and why we, as taxpayers, paid so much for it, when all it seems to be is nothing more than a glorified Excel spreadsheet with mail merge, prescription and calendar functionalities.
It is often said that technology is never wrong. They say that it is people who make the mistakes, depending on what data and information parameters were entered in the first place.
In this case, the software, that seems to have as many holes as Swiss cheese, does have some serious shortfalls, with missing descriptions for medicines, that are being manually added as days go by, and the latest major gaffe of Turkish Cypriots and foreign residents not being allowed into the system, simply because someone, somewhere else in the public sphere, failed to foresee such problems.
It seems that no two government departments have collaborated smoothly, which is why the applicant’s registration on the GHS depends not on GHS contributions, but on the place of residence.
Surely, if the state can collect GHS contributions, social insurance and tax, it can also determine if that person is a resident. Or are there Martians here as well, who don’t contribute to the GHS.
That means that the poor folk from third countries, working as labourers and carers, already contribute to the Social Insurance Fund (from which they will never benefit) and are now asked to contribute to the GHS, from which, again they will never benefit, as they need to submit all sorts of documents to confirm residence, address and maybe even proof of life.
When spending €40 mln, were the consultants not consulted? Did we just copy-paste the systems of other countries, not realising that Cyprus has information unique only to this corner of bureaucratic heaven?
And having spent 40 million, were these systems not tested with ‘interest groups’, or were these samples only selected from among friends and relatives?
This is not a €99 gaming software, but an intricate system, that will need constant upgrades and updates (for an additional fee, of course), and if all fails, there is a simple answer we give for any failing in Cyprus – It’s the European Union’s fault!
