Medics call for an NHS for all

By Evie Andreou

The aim is to create a quality, functional and viable national health scheme (NHS) especially as in the aftermath of the crisis patients are finding it increasingly difficult to secure excellent health care, head of the Cyprus Medical Association (CyMA) Petros Agathangelou said on Tuesday.

He said the NHS and hospital autonomy were discussed during a meeting with president Nicos Anastasiades.

During the meeting, he said, it was agreed that CyMA would meet further with health minister Philippos Patsalis to discuss further studies on the NHS.

CyMA’s goal is to actively contribute to the creation of an NHS “which we all need”, he said.
According to Agathangelou, the association aims to minimise any failure in the future concerning the materialisation and implementation of the health scheme through the constructive contribution of everyone involved.

A draft bill over the autonomy of public hospitals, a prerequisite of the implementation of the NHS, is expected to be submitted to parliament by June, with the plan to be voted before the summer break, and have hospitals working autonomously by the first day of 2016.

Meanwhile, discussions with doctors, nurses and other health professionals are still ongoing with their union representatives over implementing the NHS. They have held several strikes over the last few months over demands they say should be introduced before the NHS is implemented.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.