THERE has not been any spectacular improvement in the Archbishop’s mental condition and his ability to communicate, Health Minister Frixos Savvides said yesterday.
But the minister did say that the Archbishop had showed some progress in his movement since the day he returned from Athens last month.
“There is no spectacular improvement in his mental and communication abilities and the doctors who are expected from abroad will advise us if there is anything more we could do to help the Archbishop further,” Savvides said.
He added that the doctors had been asked to provide a “substantiated and specific scientific diagnosis” on whether the Archbishop was suffering from an illness that did not allow high expectations concerning his progress.
Answering complaints by the Archbishop’s relatives that they were being barred from entering the Archbishopric, Savvides said his ministry was responsible for the Archbishop’s health and had no authority over who saw him or not.
He said that his ministry had already suggested that visiting hours should be specific and short, adding that if the Archbishop was in hospital then the ministry would decide who visited him and when.
Savvides said it was a waste of time to put pressure on the ministry about what the Archbishop ate or who got to visit him as they had no power to impose anything.
“There is a dietician in the group of doctors and they can make their complaints there; they are asking me to do things that I have absolutely no power to do,” Savvides said.
The minister said the Archbishop had never told him he wanted to quit, arguing that a patient who heard endless scenarios about his future was liable to worry.
Savvides warned such worries could translate into a lack of co-operation with doctors, making their job harder and delaying the patient’s recovery.
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