PRIVATE clinics have until the end of the year to comply with new legislation or face being closed down.
A source close to the Health Ministry told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that clinics were in a transitional period until January 1, 2004, by which time they must adopt the necessary measures set out in a 2001 law on private clinics. Those that do not comply will fail to get a ‘private hospital’ licence.
The new legislation covers specific conditions in three areas: building, equipment and personnel. Depending on the size and specialisation of each clinic, the new law provides regulations on issues from room dimensions to lift specifications and noise pollution.
New clinics will have even more stringent criteria to fulfil than existing ones. They will not be allowed to set up business within an apartment block as many do now, but instead are required to operate from a separate plot of land. Regulations also set out minimum and maximum distances from significant places such as airports, Electricity Authority substations and morgues.
There are currently 114 clinics in Cyprus. The Health Ministry has been inspecting clinics’ compliance with legislation since the beginning of the year. Another compliance assessment will be made in October in preparation for implementation of the new legislation. Clinics that fail to satisfy inspectors’ criteria will not be given a licence to operate in the new year.
The head of the medical services will be responsible for maintaining a charter of private clinics and keeping the new House Committee on Private Hospitals informed. The bundle of laws governing private clinics was inspired by the recently implemented Greek model and does not come from legally binding EU provisions, known as acquis communautaire.
The private clinics law was passed in 2001 but implementation was extended for two years. Before that, private hospitals were governed under an antiquated law dating back to 1952.
Regarding clinical waste, reported to reach 1,000kg a day, state hospitals and private clinics are obliged to find a private company that will treat and properly dispose of the waste. State hospitals are currently in agreement with the only such company in Cyprus, which will begin treating waste within a week.
Many old incinerators will be rendered obsolete under the new obligations, as clinics and hospitals are choosing the sterilisation method to dispose of clinical waste.
A member of the House Health Committee, deputy Marios Matsakis, said the new legislation was an improvement but that there was still room for even higher standards. “We need even stricter controls. There are many small, family type clinics run by one or two doctors. These were useful in the past, but not any more,” he said. “They should be phased out. We should concentrate more on setting up multi-specialised medical centres,” he added.
