Dark clouds loom overhead as NHS kicks off
The first major step of the national health system (or General Healthcare System), the biggest reform in the health sector in modern Cyprus history, went into motion on the first working day of the New Year with the autonomy of all state hospitals and their integration into a single management entity, raising concerns among health workers about the viability of the plan and the strict deadlines that will probably not be met.
Wednesday, January 2, saw the first step of the roadmap for the implementation of the GHS as ownership and management of health institutions are transferred to the caretaker body, State Health Services Organisation OKYPY. Trade unions, however, have expressed their strong disagreement with the individual contracts to be offered to health workers currently employed the public sector which were drafted by OKYPY in order to persuade all civil servants to resign from the public service and to transfer to the new independent institutions.
Physicians and nurses’ unions have described these contracts as incomplete, vague and disappointing, stressing that they could not submit their comments and suggestions by the initial deadline of Monday, December 31.
Therefore, OKYPY will probably have to postpone the date of the official offer of contracts to each employee, which was initially set for January 7. A round of discussions between the government and the unions is expected to take place over the coming days, pushing further back the muchdelayed reform.
With all Health Ministry assets related to state hospitals and health care centres transferred to OKYPY as of Wednesday, thousands of health care workers and other state hospital staff are to be temporarily seconded by the government to OKYPY until they sign their individual contracts.
Wednesday was also a big day for health workers as, with the exception of doctors, they were to see a wage increase on the basis of the collective labour agreements reached between trade unions and government in the summer of when nurses took to the demanding more pay.
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