Filenews 19 March 2021
The situation of the British strain of coronavirus found in Cyprus is worrying, said Amalia Hatzigiannis, Scientific Director of The General Hospitals of Larnaca – Famagusta.
She added that "today until 4.00 noon at the Reference Hospital 69 patients with coronavirus are being treated, six of them in the Increased Care Unit, 11 bedridden, none from an institution and during the night an intubated person was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of Nicosia General Hospital".
Yesterday she continued "five discharges were given to patients whose retests for coronavirus were negative, while at the same time several admissions were made to the Reference Hospital. We note that while the smallest number of nurses we had during the second wave of the pandemic in Cyprus was 24 people, suddenly the next day admissions doubled and in 3–4 days we had reached 96% of the hospital's occupancy".
Asked whether doctors and nurses were concerned about the fullness of the Reference Hospital, Ms. Hatzigianni replied that "it is certainly a worrying situation, since we are at a critical stage where all hospitals are now treating patients with coronavirus. This is why the so-called "cold" surgeries were stopped and the appointments of our fellow human beings who would visit their doctor at the Hospital for various other diseases were postponed".
She also noted that "at the same time as admissions of patients with coronavirus are increasing in public hospitals, the rest of our fellow citizens must be concerned and take their measures to help the GHS cope with these critical times. We must all follow and faithfully follow the decrees of the Ministry of Health to help each and every one of us to maintain a balance in public hospitals."
Asked about the British strain of coronavirus that has long been in Cyprus, Amalia Hatzigiannis said that "unfortunately things are even more worrying. The virus is still between us and we must all be patient to be able to cope with these difficult times that the whole world is going through."
Regarding the average age of the nurses, she said that "it is 63 years and in the last two months or so patients from Institutions have not been treated at the Reference Hospital. One to two elderly people hospitalized in the Hospital either did not have time to get vaccinated or did not have time for the vaccine to cause them the expected immunity to Covid-19."
On vaccinations she said that "fortunately they are progressing normally and appear to have a beneficial effect on the community. However, patients treated at the Hospital are of all ages, while the youngest under the age of 30 has now been discharged. At the same time the youngest person is now 34 years old and people of all decades, i.e. 53, 55, 59 and 62 years old, are also being treated."
Asked whether there are patients at Famagusta Hospital who have underlying diseases, she replied positively and noted that "younger people are not required to have underlying diseases but can also be ill. In the last 15 days most cases are hospitalized about 7 – 8 days if there are no very serious symptoms or other underlying diseases and thus discharges are given more quickly".
As a result, "beds are released, which are then occupied by other fellow human beings who need them. However, we note that there is no concern from the relatives of the nurses, that there is provision from the Hospitals to communicate with their own people."
Referring specifically to the Reference Hospital, Ms. Hatzigiannis said that "there is provision for patients to communicate with their relatives both through staff and directly with them. When patients need to talk to their own people they need to do so for their own psychological support."
Asked about the staffing of Famagusta General Hospital with the appropriate staff, she replied that "the hospital is well staffed. At the moment there are enough staff and working normal hours, which gives them opportunities to rest and meet with relatives and loved ones."
Source: CYPE
