THE CHAIRMAN of the House Health Committee Antonis Karras yesterday warned he would go on hunger strike if the two kidney doctors who walked out of Larnaca Hospital in January were not allowed by the government to return to their posts.
Drs Efthyvoulos Anastassiades and Polis Polycarpou worked at Larnaca Hospital’s nephrology department for more than a decade before rifts between themselves and their superiors over the pair’s annual assessments resulted in the two doctors resigning from their positions in January.
The Health Ministry acted to bring medial disciplinary charges against the doctors, and the doctors in turn started legal proceedings against former Health Minister Frixos Savvides.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday Karras said Polycarpou and Anastassiades must be allowed to return to their posts immediately.
“First, we don’t have any other nephrologists in Cyprus. The Health Ministry has searched but could not find anyone else suitable,” he said.
“Secondly, these two doctors have the trust of all the kidney sufferers in Larnaca and Famagusta. And they are genuinely excellent doctors and experts in their field.”
Karras stressed that the Ministry’s current ‘solution’ of sending the Nicosia Hospital’s nephrologists to treat Larnaca patients had to come to an end, as it was inconveniencing both the doctors and the Nicosia patients.
“As a Parliament we have tried everything possible to resolve the situation and it is for this reason that I say I shall go on hunger strike – it’s the only way I can help the patients.”
“The doctors want to return… but the bureaucrats within the Ministry want to punish them,” he said.
He added that he was hopeful the situation could be resolved soon.
“At the end of the day they (the Ministry) will be forced to allow the doctors to return anyway. But we must question their stance – if these people are condemning the war in Iraq because there are casualties, then do they not also consider that refusing to allow these doctors to return is endangering patient lives and causing unnecessary inconvenience?”
Karras said he expected new Health Minister Dina Akkelidou to step in and make a final decision on the issue soon.
“I hope that by Monday the situation will be at an end.”
