Fed up doctor lashes out at hospital visit ban

A Cypriot doctor who used his medical credentials to tend to a patient in violation of covid protocol says there is no valid basis to keep people away from dying relatives.

Local gerontologist Marios Kyriazis took to social media on Tuesday to post screenshots of text messages from a patient, whom he had been visiting in violation of safety protocols imposed by the government in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kyriazis said he decided after doing a lot of thinking to share on his Facebook account messages he had received from a patient who died alone several months ago.

“As a private doctor, I would go inside the hospital almost in secret and sit with him,” Kyriazis said, adding that the patient who was a family relative needed additional care including minor healthcare tasks.

Earlier this week, local media reported on a cancer patient who was also alone, due to relatives not being allowed to visit him because of hospital safety protocols. He was later moved to another facility where he passed away, with reports saying relatives were finally able to say goodbye.

The good doctor told a local television program he had no qualms with medical staff including nurses and doctors at the hospital.

Kyriazis said doctors and nurses were doing everything right in accordance with system rules but he added “this is ineffective” because hospitals were banning relatives who could “fill in the gap between hospitalization and patient needs.”

“I guess you can say I did this illegally as it was against the rules, but I was going there with the consent of the doctors and nurses,” Kyriazis said.

The text messages the doctor shared online included short sentences from the patient, such as “mucus” and minutes later “come, please, help” and “no more water.”

“It’s getting dark, I’m so afraid,” another message read.

Kyriazis said many minor tasks could be carried out by relatives who could visit the patient to hold his or her hand and help with minor tasks, such as reaching for the water bottle.

The government has not signaled any relaxations in safety protocols for hospitals including the ongoing ban on visitations.

“This is something I don’t understand because for safety reasons the relative could still go in while taking all precautionary measures, just like all the other doctors and nurses are doing,” Kyriazis said, referring also to rapid tests and vaccinations.

“To all of you responsible for banning relatives from visiting hospitals, I will never forgive you for this. You are not worth anything as medical professionals,” Kyriazis wrote on Facebook.