THE BANK of Cyprus (BoC) Oncology Centre, the Anti-Cancer Association, Europa Donna and the Association of Cancer Patients and Friends yesterday announced they were co-founding scholarships for specialist nurses, in what was hoped would bring a significant improvement to care for cancer patients.
Despite availing of state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure, the BoC’s oncology centre has traditionally faced understaffing with nurses. Staff salaries, paid by the state, are not on a par with those offered in the private sector, while nurses employed by the government and working at state hospitals enjoy far greater benefits. As a consequence, many nurses have been lured away by more lucrative deals.
The centre has been criticised for not doing enough to keep their nurses, although its director, Alecos Stamatis, yesterday said that steps were being taken to gradually slash the deficit between salaries and benefits offered elsewhere.
In a bid to stave off the negative results of the flight of more nurses, the centre will be offering 12 specialist scholarships at colleges in Greece. Successful applicants will receive a £1,600 stipend per academic year, covering accommodation and personal expenses.
It is a four-year course, divided into seven semesters. Positions for Cypriot students are available at nursing schools in Athens, Salonica, Patras, Ioannina, Larissa, Lamia and Heraclion (Crete). Entrance examinations are this June, and the studies begin in the 2005-2006 academic year.
To ensure the nurses do not head elsewhere on completion of their studies, their contract obligates them to work for a period of at least six years at the BoC’s oncology centre, or with the Anti-Cancer Association or the Association of Cancer Patients & Friends.
Incentives for nurses include retraining throughout their career and access to the latest know-how and techniques, which it is hoped will stop them being tempted to go to the public sector.
“This will certainly not solve the problem we face in Cyprus with adequate treatment of cancer patients,” pointed out Androulla Vassiliou, who chairs the centre’s board of governors.
“But it shows that, working together, we can alleviate the situation, even if in the long term.”
According to Vassiliou, the granting of the scholarships is a move designed to pre-empt the negative consequences from the flight of more nurses, which might lead to the closure of one of the centre’s wards. Describing such an eventuality as “disastrous” for cancer patients across the island, Vassiliou said the centre was in talks with the government about what more can be done.
“We have submitted our proposals, so the ball is in the government’s court now,” she added.
Given the well-documented shortage of specialist nurses and in-patient cancer wards at state hospitals, attention has on several occasions shifted to the BoC’s oncology centre, which is seen as a pioneer in cancer treatment on the island.
The centre came into being after an agreement between the government and the Bank of Cyprus Medical Foundation was signed in November 1992. Construction began in 1995, and the centre became operational in September 1998.
n More information on the scholarships and the terms & conditions is available at the centre’s website (www.bococ.org.cy). Those interested can also contact 22-841302.
