Private hospitals say they are at breaking point, with the Pancyprian Association of Private Hospitals (PASIN) even discussing the adoption of dynamic measures in response to what it describes as inaction by the Ministry of Health over the severe problem caused by the shortage of nurses. While private hospitals argue that the ministry has failed to take effective measures to resolve the issue, or that the measures taken have yet to deliver the desired results, a recent official notification sent by the Ministry of Health to a large private hospital in Nicosia, regarding its intention to suspend its operating licence due to insufficient nursing staff in two of its departments, has caused deep frustration within the sector.
It appears this is not the first such case, as a similar letter was also sent to another hospital in the capital for the same reason. “We will shut them down so the Ministry of Health does not shut them down. This is the point we have reached,” PASIN president Marios Karaiskakis told Politis, adding that the association’s board will convene an extraordinary meeting in the coming days to decide on next steps.
‘Take measures yesterday’
According to PASIN’s president, “the situation has now reached a dead end”. Mr Karaiskakis said that although this is a long-standing problem and despite repeated appeals accompanied by specific proposals for measures that could help improve the situation immediately, “nothing that we proposed has been implemented so far”.
“Initially, we suggested a slight adjustment of the nurse-to-bed ratios, for example one nurse per five beds on the morning shift and one per seven as a temporary solution until nurses are found. Nothing like this was done, even though private hospitals are the only ones legally required to comply with such ratios. There is no corresponding legislation for the public sector, where a significant proportion of nurses are on long-term leave. On the one hand, private hospitals must comply with a law that does not apply to public hospitals, which then come and ‘poach’ nurses to cover needs that might not even exist if the same ratios applied there as well,” he said.
He also criticised the fact that “although private hospitals cover 65 to 70 percent of patients, it is as if they do not exist for the Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance Organisation”. As for additional measures the ministry could take, he noted that PASIN has submitted specific proposals to ease the crisis, such as granting work permits to nurses from third countries with the appropriate qualifications, allowing the employment of foreign graduates of Cypriot nursing schools, and placing staff in non-clinical positions without a requirement for knowledge of Greek.
More than 400 nurses short
In numerical terms, the nursing shortfall in private hospitals exceeds 400 nurses. The Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB), of which PASIN is a member, issued a statement yesterday calling on the Ministry of Health to assume its responsibilities towards the country’s hospitals. “The Ministry of Health has known about the nursing shortage for years and instead of proceeding with immediate measures, it chooses to close private hospitals, with incalculable consequences,” the OEB said, among other points.
Others also at risk
Speaking to Politis, OEB senior officer Michalis Grigoriou said that a shortage of 400 nurses in private hospitals, without even taking into account the nurses who will be required for new hospitals currently under development, is a problem that cannot be resolved solely through campaigns to attract people to the nursing profession. Mr Grigoriou added that beyond the hospital currently threatened with closure, a similar letter had been sent to another hospital some months ago. He warned that “if immediate measures are not taken, other hospitals will soon be receiving similar letters”.
Asked how the issue was resolved in the hospital that received an ultimatum months ago, he said that “they were forced to close departments and reduce the number of beds, with all the consequences this may have for patients”.
The campaign
“The nursing shortage is not a Cypriot phenomenon,” said the Ministry of Health’s Deputy Director General, Dr Elisavet Konstantinou, responding on behalf of the ministry. She added that through the campaigns carried out over the past two years, interest among young people in nursing has increased significantly, something reflected in the number of new students enrolling in nursing programmes at Cypriot universities.
“It is very positive that student numbers are increasing, but the Ministry of Health must ensure that in three to four years, when these students complete their studies, private hospitals will still exist so that they can find jobs,” PASIN president Marios Karaiskakis said in response to the ministry’s campaign.