The Minister of Health, Michalis Hatzipantela, will leave open issues behind him, since a month before he completes his term, many of his announcements will again be on the shelves of consultations between various health agencies. After all, what the minister has demonstrated for as long as he has been at the helm of the Ministry of Health is that he promises some things and does others, or rather… he doesn't do.
Creation of TAEP for children, inclusion of private TAEP of hospitals at GESY, introduction of innovative medicines at GESY, reimbursements of hospitals and of course the problems in the Department of Accidents and Emergencies, which remain to this day unsolved.
Next year with health TAEP for children
It is not at all surprising that in the case of the implementation of the decision to create a Children's TAEP, it is delayed, since there had already been a delay in the discussions between the involved bodies, which resulted in two schools of thought prevailing. The one who wanted the TAEP for children, inside the Makarios Hospital, and the other who wanted the TAEP in the Nicosia General Hospital.
The discussions may have resulted, as a temporary solution, in the creation of the TAEP for children within the Nicosia General Hospital, after gaps were found in the support services and infrastructure of Makarios, however, despite public statements from both the Ministry of Health and the State Services Organization of Health (OKYpY), for the opening of the TAEP before Christmas, we are already entering 2023 and we still haven't seen a single new bed in the General Hospital of Nicosia.
With their approval, the inclusion of TAEP private hospitals< /b>
Nor is it expected to see the inclusion of the Accident and Emergency Departments (AED) of private hospitals soon, since a timetable may have been set for their inclusion on January 1, however the Christmas holidays put the negotiations between the OAU and the private hospitals on ice. hospitals within the GESY.
In addition, the needs of the Health System may provide for the inclusion of TAEP at least in every city, and given that Limassol has a second First Aid Department, the OAU is content with discussions with only one hospital in Nicosia, leaving out, at this stage, the Paphos the free Famagusta and Larnaca. From the lazy movements followed by the OAU, combined with the rhythms of the Ministry of Health, not only the new year, but also Mr. Hatzipantela himself, who will not be a minister from March 1, will catch up.
Extension for hospital reimbursements
On the other hand, the chapter with the contracts of the hospitals within the GESY and the new method of their compensation remains open, since shortly before the deadline (until January 1st) the OAU requests an extension of the deadline, so that there is a sufficient picture from all the agencies involved.
According to information, in a recent session the Board of Directors of the OAU decided to extend the negotiations in order to exchange views with the parties involved, without yet determining the time that this it will happen.
The OAU had prepared a relevant proposal for incentives and criteria for compensation. Incentives such as the degree of patient satisfaction with the services provided by the hospital, the number of difficult cases it will undertake, the provision of specialized services and the number of care for the elderly. At the same time, the correct coding and correct updating of the patients' medical file will be included. These criteria will be given by the OAU and as numbers for how hospital fees will be affected.
What is certain, however, is that even this time the decisions were not implemented within the timetables and it remains unknown when and how this will happen.
Waiting for innovative medicines
Another big issue, for which a lot of pressure was exerted especially on the Health Insurance Organization, is that of the introduction of innovative medicines that are outside the list of medicines of the GESY. Despite the voices and constant pressures for the inclusion of the drugs – mainly from the patients – it seems that the OAU is waiting for the protocols from the Medicines Advisory Committee.
The forty million euros that entered the OAU budget are expected to gradually be included for the innovative medicines that will enter the lists of the GESY. Among those who are very optimistic, on the issue, is the Minister of Health, who announced the inclusion of 130 innovative drugs by the end of January, with the OAU, according to information, considering their immediate inclusion unfeasible.
The issue of the inclusion of more drugs in the GESY is an issue that has been of concern for a long time, while leaving patients at the mercy of the debit value of drugs, despite the fact that the Health System would give them more choices and reduced prices.
The unsolved problems of TAEP
However, one of the biggest problems that the Health sector has to face in our country is that of TAEP. The timelessness of the problems leaves no room for complacency on the part of anyone involved and of course the citizens are tired of waiting for when they will finally have the Health System they were promised.
The problems are more or less known, waiting lines, lack of consumables, lack of staff… They are what bring delays, tensions between staff and patients, creating third world images in public hospitals. The serious issues of the TAEP are connected to two other outstanding issues that Mr. Hatzipantela will leave to the next Minister of Health, such as the fact that they have not yet joined the GESY, TAEP of private hospitals, as well as the creation of a TAEP for children. Both decisions would greatly decongest the First Aid of public hospitals.
Certainly, if one could include in the efforts to solve the problems in the TAEP, the introduction of the institution of on-call clinics, it seems that the institution has not paid off, since a huge number of citizens do not know the procedures that are followed, as a result of which the same problems are constantly observed in the Departments.
All the above issues may have come under the microscope of those involved, however despite announcements and promises, solutions were never found and neither were they put on track. This will result in the new Minister of Health of the new Government, who will take office on March 1, having before him a huge workload, while he will be called upon to take important decisions on issues that his predecessor, contented himself with public announcements, but without never pass from words to actions.
