Healthcare simply doesn’t care

E DII TO RII A L

One has to spend 12 or 24 hours in any state hospital in Cyprus to realise why the national healthcare system is failing and that introducing a modified version through the autonomy of hospitals and streamlining pay will simply not solve the problem.

The truth is that nearly two thirds of all staff (doctors, nurses, admin) are just incompetent, who have been placed in state hospitals simply because there were vacancies available, and trade unions were happy to increase their membership.

Now, with those who have skills of some level, have found work in the private sector and the state nurses and doctors are moaning that they are understaffed.

In fact, they are not. The problem is very simple – poor management.

The introduction of the GESY new health scheme starting next year is supposed to address these problems. But the fundamental question remains – even by introducing ‘reforms’, will the attitudes, incompetence and low-level of intelligence of some of these people ever change? Most probably not.

It is unspeakable for somebody to remain on a bed in the casualty department for nearly 12 hours, until doctors, nurses and staff decide which tests to be conducted and then decide among themselves who will authorise it and who will take the patient. As a result of these delays, where nearly half are just floating around, the beds remain occupied and other patients cannot be admitted. A case in point being where a simple 5-minute decision to authorise a scan, could take up to three hours, until somebody “finds the time” to do it.

Moving on to the patient wards, one can see why some nurses will never progress from their current rank, unless they have political party, trade union or family connections, because dispensing pills and medication very often becomes a burdensome task for some, simply because they have not received the proper training.

Is this why trade unions are dead against university students starting work in hospitals? For fear that their weaknesses and incompetencies will show?

Then again, looking at some of the interning or trainee nurses, one wonders if anyone has any idea which section in government they are joining, as they lack the most basic of stimulation for their future job – caring.

Patient groups are very right to be worried that things could get worse (or remain as is) with the introduction of the GESY.

But if we don’t put ‘care’ in healthcare, then the national health system is doomed, no matter how many millions are spent or equipment and so-called training.