The shortage of nursing staff in Cyprus remains unresolved, with private hospitals continuing to operate under pressure while awaiting concrete measures from the Ministry of Health (Cyprus). Despite repeated warnings in recent months, the issue persists, with healthcare providers describing a situation that continues to affect the daily operation of medical services.
The issue returned to the spotlight following an intervention by Giorgos Pantelidis, who warned of the risk of a serious crisis in the health system due to the shortage of nurses.
Speaking at the annual general assembly of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation, Pantelidis said that although the healthcare sector has grown significantly in recent years, the lack of sufficient human resources is undermining both sustainability and service quality.
According to him, Cyprus urgently needs at least 600 additional nurses, while hospitals continue to operate under strict patient-to-nurse ratios. At the same time, he said, regulatory provisions remain in place that restrict the integration of new personnel into the system.
Pantelidis warned that if immediate decisions are not taken, serious consequences for the functioning of the healthcare system may soon arise. He added that critical services such as Intensive Care Units could eventually be affected.
Waiting for parliamentary action
At the end of last month, private hospitals and representatives of organisations directly affected by the nursing shortage, including rehabilitation centres, decided not to proceed for the time being with strike action or other measures.
Instead, they granted additional time to the Minister of Health, Neophytos Charalambides, although no clear timeline has been provided for government decisions.
At the same time, the issue of recruiting nurses from third countries also remains pending. A government bill under discussion proposes several provisions, including employment quotas, limited work permits and stricter language requirements.
The proposed measures include:
- Removal of the requirement for a postgraduate degree in order to register in the nursing registry
- A maximum limit of 10 percent for the employment of nurses from third countries per medical unit
- Upgrading language proficiency requirements from basic to satisfactory level
- Maintaining the rule that nurses from third countries must not exceed 10 percent of total nursing staff per unit
The bill is expected to be examined by the new composition of the Health Committee of the House of Representatives (Cyprus) in the coming period.
Healthcare stakeholders warn that the current situation leaves little room for complacency, stressing that without immediate decisions the pressure on the health system is likely to intensify.