Filenews 27 June 2023 - by Marilena Panayi
Obligation of specialist doctors to make available free appointments for emergencies - HIO intention to strengthen the control and supervision of the system
The intention of the HIO to implement measures that will oblige all GHS doctors to have free appointments during each day for emergencies and emergencies that arise, as well as the elaboration by the organization of amendments to the legislation in order to strengthen the control exercised over the General Health System and its providers, stand out in the roadmap presented last Friday to the President of the Republic.
Supervision and control of the GHS and the way providers behave within the system, the inclusion of new services and professionals, the expansion of services already offered, as well as changes in the way doctors and hospitals are monitored and compensated, are included in the roadmap. The months of September and December 2023 mark the end of the timetable for most of the HIO's actions and plans. It is reported that the HIO's action plan was based on what the President of the Republic includes in its governance program.
In detail, in order to reduce the permissible waiting time for examination by a specialist doctor in cases of patients who are referred by their personal doctor with symptoms of serious illnesses or whose results of diagnostic tests require immediate treatment, the HIO does not set a specific timetable for the implementation of any relevant program and limits itself to mentioning that "continuous effort" is being made.
However, the plan includes an action that concerns the definition of "protected daily time for emergencies and emergencies", which means the obligation for all doctors to have free time on a daily basis to devote to emergencies and emergencies that arise during a 24-hour period. The timetable for the start of the implementation of this measure is set for December 2023.
Regarding the integration of more Accident and Emergency Departments, the Organization states that in September it is expected that the Emergency Departments of the polyclinic "Hygeia" in Limassol (so the district will operate with three TAEPs, one state and two private) and the Apollonion hospital in Nicosia, which will have two TAEP with this addition. In September, according to the HIO timetables, it is expected that consultation with Agios Raphael Hospital in Larnaka and Evangelismos Hospital in Paphos will begin, since the aim is for each district to have at least two TAEP (one state and one private).
For the new services that will be included in the GHS, according to the HIO's planning: Podiatrists are expected to join the system from July, as are the new speech therapy services. Counselling psychologists are expected to join the system in December 2023, while the provision of free home care visits will be expanded by providing further incentives without increasing the budget of personal doctors. This is expected to take place in September 2023.
For the expansion of services already offered, the HIO has set two timetables for rehabilitation services. The first concerns September 2023, when and along with the services for multi-injured patients provided today, services for cardiac surgery and pulmonology cases will begin to be offered, while in December 2023 the inclusion of orthopaedic cases is planned.
As the HIO points out, this will depend on the availability of beds and the legislation on the operation of rehabilitation centres, the inclusion of which will help increase the available beds for rehabilitation.
Regarding the special arrangements in hospitals for immediate service of citizens with problems in need of specialized and immediate care (quality criteria, new way of reimbursement), the timetable remains for September 2023, while by November this year the compilation of patient registries for seven different diseases will have been completed.
Finally, regarding the "supervision and re-evaluation of health providers in the GHS", the HIO states that in September 2023 proposals for amending the legislation will be submitted to the Board of Directors to cover some gaps and/or omissions that have been identified.
INTERVENTION
If the timetables are adhered to ...
Setting timelines provides a certainty that what is promoted will be implemented. Of course, we have seen many times, both with regard to the GHS and other issues, that timetables are exceeded and the implementation of decisions is delayed. Let us hope that the procedure chosen by the President of the Republic for a new meeting with the HIO in a month's time will not affect the timetables. We should also point out that the roadmap, apart from the HIO's intention to proceed with the implementation of a measure that will oblige doctors to allocate time for emergencies, does not include any other specific action aimed at reducing waiting lists.
