Haematology unit opens within Oncology Centre
PATIENTS with cancerous blood disorders will now be treated in a dedicated section opened within the Oncology Centre at Lefkoşa State Hospital.
The centre’s new Haematology Service was formally unveiled last Friday, with its head, Dilek Yazman, saying she hoped to develop their work and eventually be fully equipped to carry out bone marrow transplants.
Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, Health Minister Ali Pilli and the hospital’s chief doctor, Adil Özyılkan, performed the official opening in front of MPs and officials.
The new unit has 13 rooms and 17 beds for treating patients with conditions such as leukaemia and lymphoma. Mr Tatar, calling the Oncology Centre “our honor”, told the launch ceremony: “It is our duty to push the boundaries in order for health services to be provided. Health comes first and we can never know what will happen to someone.
“We need to provide all kinds of health care to our people while also protecting and developing [the service].”
Dr Pilli said the government was aiming to make “sustainable investments” in health, and this included continuing planning of a new state hospital in Lefkoşa.
He said operation of the new haematology unit had been delayed because of staff shortages, but the Health Ministry had taken on more nurses to allow it to open, and commented: “Patients and their comfort are important for us.”
Cancer specialist Özlem Gürkut, who is head of the Doctors’ Union, said the new section would ease the strain on beds and facilities in the existing medical oncology service.
She said the Oncology Centre still needed to have a day unit and intensive care facilities, on which Dr Pilli said work was ongoing, and commented: “When these open too [the centre] will be more comprehensive. It will also solve the issue of not having an intensive care unit, which is the biggest factor behind our having to transfer patients to other hospitals.”