‘Just tell us who’s responsible’
THE CYPRUS Paraplegic Organisation (OPAK) staged a demonstration at the New Limassol General Hospital yesterday, expressing their outrage at the lack of provision for disabled parking – even in public buildings – and the ease with which government departments are passing the buck.
“We organised the demonstration to express our concern for the lack of sufficient disabled parking at Limassol General Hospital, as well as our frustration at the government’s handling of this issue,” said Andreas Ioannou, OPAK’s spokesman. “To this day, we don’t know who is responsible for handling this issue, as every government agency we talk to directs us to someone else.”
There are presently seven parking spaces at the Limassol General Hospital that are assigned for use by the disabled. However, as OPAK points out, these are too small, do not meet the regulations, and are usually occupied by the able-bodied.
“The disabled parking spaces at Limassol General Hospital are the same size as the regular parking spaces. As a result there is no space for a wheelchair. Regulations dictate that disabled parking must be one-and-a-half times as big as the regular parking space,” Ioannou explained.
Adding to the insult, some of the hospital staff park their cars in the disabled parking spaces.
“Some unconscionable people are parking in the disabled parking – they even park on the disabled ramp, thus totally blocking access to the hospital. I am sorry to say that usually four out of the seven disabled parking spaces are used by nurses and other hospital staff, who regularly park on the space assigned for disabled use.
“Upon leaving from the hospital a few days ago, I saw a young nurse parking on the disabled space. When I confronted him on why he was doing this, he said that he would leave when his shift ended in the morning. It was 6.00pm at the time. This is the attitude we have to put up with,” Ioannou added.
Ioannou also pointed out that the fine for parking on disabled space is too small, and not enough of a deterrent. “The fine is £15, which is the lowest you can get. If they imposed a fine of £200-£300, that would make people think twice before doing it.”
OPAK has made several attempts at reaching government officials to discuss the problems with disabled parking at Limassol General, but no government agency has accepted to take responsibility for handling the issue. The organisation has sent a number of letters explaining the issue to the General Director of Limassol General Hospital, but has not received any reply.
“We then tried to talk to Mr Petevis, the General Director of Limassol Hospital. He refused to talk to us, so I waited outside his office.
“Finally, after I insisted, he invited me in his office but denied receiving our letters. He also told me he was not responsible for this issue and could not help us,” Ioannou added.
The organisation then met with the Health Minister Costas Kadis, who assured them that a ‘strict letter’ to the General Director of Limassol Hospital would be sent.
“This happened months ago, and we had no progress since then. We are frustrated and feel that nobody is listening to us. I am sorry to say that in Cyprus people have no respect for the disabled”.
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