Apollonion Hospital and the State Health Services Organisation (SHSO) have issued differing accounts of how a woman with postoperative complications was treated after she arrived at Nicosia General Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department. The case has also raised questions about how far a hospital’s responsibility extends when a complication requires capabilities it does not have.
The case was brought to public attention by DISY MP and former health minister George Pamboridis. Following a series of operations at a private hospital in Nicosia, the woman developed complications and was eventually taken to the Accident and Emergency Department at Nicosia General Hospital.
Different accounts subsequently emerged from Apollonion and SHSO over what happened and which institution was responsible for continuing her treatment.
SHSO says care was not refused
SHSO said Nicosia General Hospital never refused to treat the patient.
In its official statement, the organisation said doctors assessed her and concluded that, provided it was medically safe, the appropriate course was for her care to continue at the hospital and with the medical team that had performed the operations.
SHSO also said that if the private hospital were genuinely unable to provide the necessary treatment, Nicosia General would take over the case, as it has done in other instances.
Apollonion says transfer was agreed
A source at Apollonion gave Politis a different account, saying the treating doctor considered the transfer necessary because of the patient’s comorbidities.
The source said there had been prior communication and coordination with Nicosia General Hospital. Apollonion had also said the patient’s admission to hospital had been scheduled for Friday morning.
Pamboridis responded to SHSO’s statement by focusing on the fact that the patient was not admitted to Nicosia General, despite, according to him, being taken to its Accident and Emergency Department twice.
The former health minister also criticised what he described as “communications” handling of the case, saying the matter would be taken up “where it should be, very soon”.
What the HIO says
In its statement, SHSO also raised a broader question for the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO): “How is it possible for a Category A1 hospital to perform operations but be unable to manage complications that may arise from them?”
Politis contacted the HIO, which communicated with both hospitals involved in the case. According to a source, efforts were also made to have the woman admitted to another hospital within the General Healthcare System, outside Nicosia.
The HIO’s position is that the doctor or hospital undertaking an operation must also be capable of managing possible complications, as required under the General Healthcare System framework.
This does not mean that every complication can be anticipated or treated by every hospital.
Some complications may require facilities or expertise that a particular hospital does not have. In such cases, hospitals within the General Healthcare System cooperate, with Nicosia General Hospital, the country’s only quaternary-care hospital, taking on many of the most complex cases.
New criteria from 2027
The case comes as the HIO works to define more clearly which hospitals may undertake specialist cases.
In cooperation with scientific associations, the Cyprus Medical Association and hospitals, the organisation is developing specific criteria covering the infrastructure and capabilities required to manage potential complications.
Hospitals will have to meet these criteria before they can perform and receive General Healthcare System reimbursement for specialist procedures.
The criteria are expected to be finalised in the coming months and introduced from January 2027.
