FIVE YEARS have passed since the law for patients’ rights was passed, yet the district committees for examining complaints are still not operating fully.
MPs on the House Human Rights Committee yesterday expressed their disappointment and irritation at the fact that the committees, especially the Nicosia district committee, were facing staffing problems, resulting in them rarely being operational.
On top of that, if one of the committees’ senior officers needs to be absent, there are no replacements, meaning the centres remain inactive for long periods of time.
Furthermore, most civilians are unaware of whom to turn to when they have a complaint, as proved by a survey presented to the parliamentary committee, showing that 60 per cent of Cypriots are oblivious to the fact that these complaints’ committees exist.
“The situation is not only disappointing, it is unacceptable,” said DISY’s Stella Kyriakidou. “Since we last examined the matter in December, very little has been done to improve the situation; in some cases it has become worse.
“When the officers who are in charge of patients’ complaints for Nicosia General Hospital and Makarios Hospital are absent, there are no replacements, meaning the office is completely inactive.”
Committee Chairman Sophocles Fyttis of DIKO was equally disappointed.
“The House Human Rights Committee last examined this matter in December 2008, where we asked for various answers from the patients’ rights officers,” said Fyttis. “The district committees responded and we called for today’s meeting to examine these answers and see if there are any positive developments regarding the practice and implementation of the patients’ rights law.”
He added, “Our general conclusion is that it is not operating correctly; I would characterise the operation and implementation of the law as mediocre.”
For this reason, said Fyttis, the Committee had asked the Health Ministry to arrange a meeting with all implicated bodies to look into the matter.
“They committed to returning with answers on July 14 [before parliament interrupts for the summer recess], with practical solutions on how to better operate the patients’ complaints committees, how to better support them staff-wise, as well as how to arrange replacements for the officers, as there is no one to replace them when they are away,” said Fyttis.
At present, patients have no idea where to go when they have complaints, resulting in the Ombudswoman and Cyprus Medical Association being inundated with complaints.
“We are expecting the ministry to set conditions, so that civilians know who to turn to when they have an issue,” said Fyttis.
As Roulla Mavronicola of EDEK pointed out, “More than 60 per cent of the Cypriot population is not even aware that these committees exist, according to a survey we were presented with”.
The only information that exists about them, she added, comes in the form of leaflets that are available in the waiting rooms of the state hospitals’ out-patient clinics.
“We feel that the public has been insufficiently informed; we expect the Health Ministry to find ways to correct this.”
