AROUND 300 former patients of the Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital are currently living in old people’s homes due to the lack of halfway houses, with MPs yesterday expressing their outrage at the lack of progress made in assisting patients’ integration into society.
Speaking after the House human rights committee’s discussion on the matter yesterday, EDEK’s Roulla Mavronicola said there were virtually no plans in place by the state to support patients with psychiatric problems.
“It seems that integration plans to help psychiatric patients, whether they were treated at Athalassa Hospital or not, are zero,” said Mavronicola. “Where there are some programmes in operation by volunteer organisations, there is great dangers of them going up in smoke due to the economic crisis.”
She said the situation is not helped by the general attitude of Cypriot society towards these patients; or by the lack of incentives to help them find employment.
Mavronicola added that both the hospital and Social Welfare Services confirmed that there were around 300 former patients currently residing in old people’s homes, for lack of anywhere else to go.
“For us, this is unacceptable,” she said. “Old people’s homes are there for other reasons and these people should be in halfway houses, to help them reintegrate in society.”
The serious lack of help towards Athalassa patients was highlighted at yesterday’s parliamentary discussion.
DISY’s Stella Kyriakidou, who tabled the matter for discussion, cited quotes from the Elpidoforos Group – spokespersons for Athalassa patients who have completed their therapy: “it is a human right to live with dignity” and “each time I have to start building from scratch”.
She said: “I think this says it all.”
“Unfortunately there are huge difficulties in the reintegration of people with psychiatric conditions,” said Kyriakidou. “This is due to the lack of structures and lack of coordination among the services.”
The Social Welfare Services, she added, weren’t helping the situation with yesterday’s meeting attended by an officer who was not even acquainted with the matter and who turned up late for the meeting.
“We were assured in previous sessions that in 2011, around 14 structures would be operating for the patients’ integration; today we were informed that any existing structures in Nicosia have closed down, while the only one operating in Limassol is also expected to close down,” said Kyriakidou
And to top it all off, the state doesn’t consider psychiatric problems to be as serious as other ailments, thus entitling sufferers to reduced benefits compared to those with other disabilities.
“It is unacceptable that no suggestion has been made for a change in legislation regarding the benefits they are entitled to,” said Kyriakidou. “This discrimination needs to stop and dealt with legislatively.”
