Young fever patient turned away twice

A little girl who was running a fever was turned away at two state hospitals in Nicosia, with reports saying medics refused to refer or treat the young patient because she was not registered in the newly-launched Cyprus General Healthcare System known as GESY.

(Click here for an update to the story)

According to Philenews, a private pediatrician says she examined a 3-year-old girl on May 29 and determined the child was running a temperature. The doctor examined the girl again on June 3 and diagnosed her with the start of an infection of the respiratory system as well as an ear infection. The doctor prescribed some medication and asked to be kept up-to-date with developments.

On Wednesday morning, the mother of the child notified her pediatrician that the girl was still running a fever, saying the child was demonstrating reduced muscle strength. The doctor then ordered the girl be admitted to Makarios Children’s Hospital in Nicosia, with the mother taking her child to the Emergency Room at Nicosia General to request a referral.

But medics at Nicosia General refused to refer the child directly to a doctor at Makarios, according to Philenews, telling the mother she would need to take the patient to Makarios and go through the normal walk-in visitation process. She was then told by doctors at Makarios that they couldn’t admit her daughter because the referring pediatrician was not registered in the GESY network of doctors. Philenews also said the mother was told another reason for the refusal had to do with the mother’s failure to register her child with GESY.

Four hours later and after the mother went home to complete her GESY registration, according to Philenews, the doctors at Makarios admitted the girl as an in-patient.

According to Philenews, the private pediatrician who sought an explanation about the delay, was reportedly told by doctors at Makarios they themselves were unsure about the exact procedure in such cases.

GESY was officially launched on Saturday, June 1, with over half a million beneficiaries enrolling by noon Monday. Despite patients and doctors pointing out problems in the system, officials said the rolling out of the new healthcare system was off to a good start.

Eligible GESY beneficiaries can register here.