< p>The smooth operation of public hospitals is in the air, due to the absence of a policy by the competent bodies for an immediate and substantial solution to the serious problems that are faced every day, with the three-hour work stoppage on Friday by the doctors of the Accident and Emergency Department of the Paphos General Hospital , to be the harbinger for taking further protest measures.
The poorly recorded texts take time and the knot has reached the comb, not only for the doctors but also for the nurses, who also complain to the State Health Services Organization (OKYpY) and the Ministry of Health for delays in solving the problems. After all, the phrase he used to describe the image that prevails in the health sector, speaking to REPORTER, the president of PASYKI, Sotiris Koumas, is also typical. “We cannot be on the front pages every month”.
Mr. Koumas has been strongly criticizing OKYpY for days now, while he expressed concern about whether the issues that concern TAEP are really perceived by the Organization and likens them to symptoms of a more serious illness. As the president of PASYKI explained, “we should put down all the issues, such as understaffing and the reduced infrastructure we have, which are now symptoms of a more serious disease. The most serious disease is that we do not realize that we have a General Health System, within which it should be determined what exactly the TAEPs mean”.
“Although we've had the GeSY for four years now,” noted Mr. Koumas, “we still hear that there is a discussion about whether TAEPs of private hospitals will join the System together with public TAEPs. About six months ago, we asked a question: What is the specific study that has preceded it, so that we know our needs, the infrastructures needed by TAEPs throughout Cyprus? We think this study is very important. We cannot simply say that we will open TAEP. First Aid is not the only place we see when we visit. They are areas that must be properly staffed and we must look at our infrastructure. We have not witnessed or known that there has been such a discussion about the number of infrastructures and the number of TAEPs that we need in each city”.
At the same time, Mr. Koumas stated that doctors are open to dialogue in order to address problems and find holistic solutions to health issues, through the definition of specific policies. As he explained, “this is a right that every citizen of Cyprus has earned and deserves. Understaffing is a serious issue, both in terms of human staff and health workers, i.e. doctors and nurses, while the lack of infrastructure is also a serious problem. Despite this, we remain uncertain and OKYpY should proceed with corrective solutions, not only for the TAEP of the Paphos hospital but in all the TAEP. There are no more margins. Even the recent reply letter we received from the Organization, on the occasion of the protest at the Paphos hospital, caused us concern. You can't cure patients by advertising jobs”.
The doctors' work stoppage was used as a lever of pressure on the authorities, however, despite the fact that taking measures is not an end in itself, PASYKI has put on the table the possibility of proceeding with a work stoppage in all Accident and Emergency Departments. “It is the only way to exert pressure. Our biggest complaint is that they don't listen to us, not as trade unionists but as scientists and experts. They need to realize that we are doctors and we know the subject much better than those who came later to solve it”, emphasized Mr. Koumas.
Nurses intend to take measures
The serious problems observed in public hospitals are also noticed by the nursing staff, as well as the fact that there is difficulty in dealing with them, creating chain problems. At the center of the nurses' discussions are the incidents of violence in the TAEP of the hospitals, but also the failure to reach an agreement with OKYPY for the staffing of all Departments, with the unions warning of taking measures.
As he said speaking to REPORTERthe President of the General Nursing Staff Branch of PASYDY, Prodromos Argyridis “apart from the understaffing observed in the nursing staff, there are various issues that plague the TAEP, such as the difficulty to deal with all incidents in a short period of time and this is due to many factors, which form the connecting link. When one link breaks, the whole system breaks down. For example, at the weekend we don't have family doctors. People who have a health problem come to First Aid to be served because they have nowhere else to go, since even though we have on-call clinics, the institution has not become known to the world. The Ministry of Health should constantly inform and remind about the on-call clinics, at least for the easy cases and to pay attention to the difficult ones”.
He added that “the chain of problems includes its good staffing of nurses and doctors. The timely execution of examinations, the availability of beds to serve patients, the assurance of the rapid arrival of specialists to examine patients when they require examination by a specialist. As it is, for example, when an orthopedic case arrives at the hospital, while the Orthopedist is in the operating room, he should see after the patient”. dynamically. “It is about the serious issues of the non-conclusion of the discussions held with OKYpY regarding staffing for all Departments in all hospitals. This dialogue has been bothering us for a year now, we discuss the issue at regular intervals and there is no willingness from the Organization to deal with it and there is an obstruction. There is a confusion and discrepancy about the number of nurses that should be in the various Departments. We entered into a dialogue which ends nowhere”.
Next week the nurses will have a meeting with the president of the Board of Directors of OKYPY and if there is no conclusion to the dialogue not even this time, they will decide on the reaction measures.
READ HERE: Three-hour work stoppage at TAEP Pafos – Not excluded the escalating measures
