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Our standard of living is improving, be it very slowly, adding to the recent successes of this government are the introduction of the guaranteed minimum income (not much but it’s at least a start) and launch of a National Health Service.
When studying the doctors’ demands one wonders how much money (mostly undeclared) they are making (be it not all of them) because private clinics and popular doctors suggest that their pay of around €300,000 p.a. from the national health scheme is not enough.
The 2,500 allocated patient limit per GP seems to be a small number for them and they ask for more and more (debatable if they can cope).
They have even published leaflets claiming the national health service is no good, whereas some of the doctors who have supported the scheme are under investigation (for what?) by the Doctors’ Association.
It appears that the public has a soft spot for the doctors and when an investigation was announced by the Competition Commissioner, it appears to be halted by the general support to the Doctors Association and even the Government has expressed the view that now is not the time for the investigation.
At the same time, an investigation is in progress by the Inland revenue department, in order to ascertain declared income of doctors (one rarely gets a receipt) to see how much they were getting before the national health scheme.
It also seems that the new system favours newcomers and not so well known doctors. The objections come from the established ones who appear to have the support and the muscle to object – what a mistake by the Government to back down and well done to the fair competition commissioner.
We deal in real estate and the building industry most of which receive its earnings from the foreign market and the introduction of the national health plan will upgrade the services provided to its residences and by projection, it will benefit the building industry in general.
As circumstances stand, and through the pressure of the Doctors’ Association, a limited number of doctors have so far registered with the national health service, but according to the government, interest is growing.
On the other hand, bearing in mind that the more well-known and presumably the best-qualified doctors are not interested in the national health service, does it mean the rest of us will be left with the not-so qualified ones?
The high pay rates approved and the “guaranteed” clients have attracted some foreign investors, including quality establishments such as the German Oncology Centre and other mainly Israeli specialised clinics and rehabilitation centres.
Part of the governmental plan is for Cyprus to become an attraction to international investors for the establishment of universities (40,000 students in the Republic, as opposed to the 100,000 in the Turkish-held north – of debatable quality) and the health system could be a major attraction for Cyprus foreign investment.
The latter is yet to take off and should we manage to have good quality medical care, it can be of an appeal to the Arab countries neighbouring Cyprus, as well as Europeans, by offering to them “medical holidays”.
A client of ours from Ireland informed us that for her 10-day medical holiday in Hungary to fix her teeth, she paid as much as she would pay in Ireland, including the airfare and the holiday to boot.
The visitors, we understand, are around 20,000 (especially off-season) for dental treatment and it is increasing.
In order to become competitive, we have obstacles, which includes the lack of direct flights, the international competition (Greece is following up closely on the subject) and others, whereas the recent announcement by the new Minister of Tourism is encouraging towards this direction.
