Newsroom
The State Health Services Organisation (OKYPY) has rejected claims that a patient suffering serious post-operative complications was refused treatment at Nicosia General Hospital, saying its doctors never denied her the medical care she required.
The dispute concerns a patient who had undergone several procedures at a private hospital before developing serious complications. She subsequently attended the Accident and Emergency Department at Nicosia General Hospital.
According to OKYPY, specialists at the state hospital assessed the case and considered that, provided it was medically safe, the patient should continue to be managed by the private hospital and medical team that had performed the procedures. The organisation said this was based on continuity of care, as the treating team had direct knowledge of the patient's medical history and previous operations.
OKYPY said the case was discussed during a video conference involving doctors from Nicosia General Hospital, representatives of the private hospital and officials from the Health Insurance Organisation.
The organisation stressed that Nicosia General, the only quaternary hospital operating within the General Healthcare System (GeSY), accepts patients requiring complex and specialised treatment.
OKYPY also pointed to recent cases in which public hospitals have taken over patients experiencing complications following treatment in the private sector. It said two such patients had been transferred from a private GeSY hospital to Limassol General Hospital during the same week and were receiving the necessary treatment there.
The organisation said that any private hospital undertaking specialised procedures within GeSY must have the infrastructure, staffing and medical capacity required to deal safely with the patients it accepts, including complications that can reasonably arise following treatment.
OKYPY said that if the private hospital involved in the current case genuinely lacked the ability to provide the necessary treatment, and the patient's condition required care at Nicosia General, the public hospital would have taken responsibility for the case.
Public hospital specialists also regularly assist private facilities with complex cases, the organisation said. Infectious disease specialists, for example, are available around the clock to provide expert assistance to private hospitals when required.
The case has also prompted questions about the requirements imposed on hospitals providing specialised procedures under GeSY, particularly whether facilities authorised to carry out such operations have sufficient capacity to manage potential complications.
OKYPY said public hospitals remain a key safety net within Cyprus' healthcare system and would continue to accept serious and complex cases when their intervention was medically required.
Pamboridis disputes OKYPY account
DISY MP Giorgos Pamboridis criticised the organisation's response, arguing that it failed to address what he described as the central issue.
In a social media post, Pamboridis said the patient had been transferred to the Accident and Emergency Department at Nicosia General Hospital twice, despite OKYPY's position that she was never admitted.
He accused the organisation of producing a lengthy public response rather than addressing the substance of the case, and called on it to concentrate on the responsibilities assigned to it by the state.
