PARAPLEGIC and quadriplegic people in Cyprus are sick of being ignored by the state and have threatened ‘drastic measures’ if their basic human rights aren’t respected.
The Cyprus Paraplegic Organisation (OPAK) has gone public with a damning list of problems preventing them from living the basic life that other human beings take for granted.
There is just one doctor to treat paraplegics and quadriplegics at Nicosia General Hospital, and members of OPAK say she doesn’t have the expertise to deal with many of the health issues that accompany their disabilities – her already heavy workload means the doctor is unavailable at weekends.
Paraplegics and quadriplegics are given just £150 a month from the government and from this they are expected to fund personal carers – which cost upwards of £1,000 a month – not to mention the ever-increasing cost of life.
Another point highlighted was the recent revision of the Law for Public Benefits and Services, which saw Parliament add a provision that said spouses should care for each other.
“We believe this provision is unacceptable and out of date. It burdens the family with an enormous, expensive responsibility, while at the same time it allows the state to reduce its responsibility to offer support to disabled people,” said the head of OPAK, Demetris Lambrianides.
DIKO deputy Antigoni Papadopoulou, who attended the meeting along with deputies from DISY, EDEK and the Green Party, attempted to justify the House Labour Committee’s decision to add the provision, saying that such omissions should be pointed out sooner so deputies can examine them thoroughly.
But Lambrianides said this was a demand OPAK had made repeatedly while the law was being discussed, but had fallen on deaf ears.
Papadopoulou, along with DISY’s Stella Kyriakidou, EDEK’s Roulla Mavronicola and the Green Party’s Georgos Perdikis said they would suggest the matter be reopened in Parliament.
The final straw that prompted OPAK to take action was the Labour Ministry’s “ongoing indifference” to the problems paraplegics and quadriplegics face trying to find care.
“Quadriplegic people have a mobile disability in their arms as well as their legs, to a degree that they cannot do almost anything without the help of someone else,” Lambrianides explained.
“They can’t eat, drink, get dressed or go to bed. Since the 1980s, these people have been given £150 to help fund for a carer,” he said, adding that this amount had not been reviewed since, three decades later.
“The cost to employ a carer has now surpassed £1,000, without any help from the state,” said Lambrianides.
“Our repeated pleas to the Labour Ministry have fallen on deaf ears. The result of this indifference towards such a serious problem is that we have quadriplegic people today who have been abandoned by their carers and their only option is institutionalisation, because they haven’t got anybody else to care for them.”
To highlight the seriousness of the situation, Lambrianides spoke of a member of OPAK, whose wife has looked after him since they were married decades ago.
His wife now needs an operation in both legs but keeps putting it off because there is nobody to look after her husband when she is away.
One quadriplegic woman said: “My carer went on leave for one month and so I asked Social Services to provide me with another to replace her.
“They said there were old people’s homes I could go to. I have two children. Unfortunately there is no volunteerism in Cyprus, so we have to pay for care.”
Another added: “My washing machine broke so I called them for help. They said: ‘Knock on your neighbour’s door and ask her to wash your clothes’.”
The organisation made some leeway in their attempt to raise awareness, as Lambrianides announced that Labour Minister Antonis Vassiliou had called him before and arranged to meet OPAK this week, “aimed at finding solutions in a short period of time”.
Health Minister Charis Charalambous told OPAK that he would work on resolving the lack of specialist doctors with the “same zeal” as he dealt with the recent problem with the lack of child neurologists.
And the Finance Ministry has committed to examining the possibility of increasing funding for the purchase of wheelchairs. Currently, a manual wheelchair costs around £1,000 and the state offers £650 towards it.
What does it take to expect a basic quality of life?
OPAK is requesting:
l Recognition of the cost of disability and the inclusion of all disabled people in the vulnerable sector that is offered help from the state in social packages
l An increase in funding for carers
l An increase in benefits for the heavily disabled, which is currently £172 a month
l Modernisation and better structuring of the new Nicosia General Hospital’s Paraplegics’ Ward
l Increase in funding to purchase wheelchairs
l More human treatment by the Social Services
l Financial assistance from the Housing Scheme to help build specially-equipped houses
