CYPRUS: When the GHS is in need of medical care

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A shortage of staff at state hospital accident and emergency wards prompted health workers to go on strike, on the one hand causing further disruption to the General Health System, and on the other, perhaps unknowingly, calling the bluff of the private medical sector for doctors and hospitals to show their true colour over patient care.


The Ministry of Health appealed to the private sector to absorb the ‘mild’ cases (grade 4 and 5), to which many clinics were responsive, with the exception of Nicosia where all private hospitals rejected the request, apart from a handful of doctors who said they would pitch in.

It is now abundantly clear that despite paying over EUR 40 mln to ‘consultants’, the GHS continues to face major shortfalls, with the software requiring constant updates and manual overrides to enter data that had not been foreseen, or for the entire system to handle policy issues, for which there is simply … no policy!.

Staff shortages at the A&E wards are nothing new. These existed long before the present format of the GHS was getting into the design stage, simply because the vast majority of stakeholders never believed the GHS would actually reach the implementation stage.

With revenue and expenditure now supposedly better managed than before, it is time that state funds are used to invest in medical equipment and training of human resources.

Some purchases have been put to tender in the past year and more are expected to follow, alas at a snail’s pace.

However, the HR and training chapter is becoming a huge headache that everybody has been sweeping under the carpet, because of vote-mongering techniques by politicians resulted in payroll issues being diverted to areas where numbers count more, nearer election dates.

With the autonomy of state hospitals coming into effect any time soon, the A&E wards and their staffing should be the ultimate priority, as such units are a reflection of the service provided by the entire hospital.

There are smart techniques as regards the ‘patient flow’ and making hospital beds more efficient, but good management is of utmost importance so that the patients receive the best possible service and in the best possible time, whether it is a tourist suffering from sunburn or an A&E ward dealing with a disaster scenario linked to oil and gas exploration operations in the region.

The proper investment, by hiring the best people for the job, could also serve as an example for others to follow and seek a career in public hospitals, not abandon them, if the state is prepared to offer the right remuneration to the best people.

Someone has to take this policy and budget decision. The trouble is, who is calling the shots?