Doctors deny nurses’ claims of malpractice

By Elias Hazou

THE Government Doctors Association yesterday denied allegations of malpractice put forward by nurses.

Nurses claimed that recently a goverment doctor operated on a young girl with the help of a nursery teacher posing as a medical intern.

A swift response came yesterday from the doctors’ association, attributing the rumours to “conscious efforts by the nurses, acting on behalf of Pasidy (civil servants’ union) to besmirch our reputation.”

They said the nurses’ attack was an attempt to shift focus away from the recent scandal at Makarios Hospital when government nurses walked out for a lunch-break forcing children’s surgery to be postponed.

The Government Doctors Association was recently formed when a number of doctors left Pasidy, arguing that their concerns were not heeded by the union.

For its part, the nurses association yesterday dismissed arguments that this was a dispute between unions, adding that they had evidence of “even worse cases of malpractice”.

The Ministry of Health yesterday withheld comment, but a spokesman for the ministry said the matter would be investigated.

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