Filenews 12 January 2024 - by Marilena Panayi
A large gap in nursing care services comes to fill a bill that provides for the establishment and licensing of companies / organizations, which will have the necessary qualified nursing staff and will serve patients (within the framework of the GHS after the adoption of the law), whether they are in their homes or in other structures (eg nursing homes).
The bill was discussed yesterday by the Parliament's Health Committee, which aimed to begin its article-by-article discussion at its next session. Some disagreements that have arisen, however, postpone the start of this process to mid-February after it was deemed appropriate to precede a short (re)consultation between the stakeholders.
Nursing services in patients' homes are still provided today by both the public and private sector within the General Health System, however, there is a gap in the way the various companies that provide these services operate. That is why the bill includes provisions concerning the conditions, but also the criteria that must be met in order to ensure the proper and quality service of citizens.
As the Director of Nursing Services of the Ministry of Health, Evagoras Tambouris, mentioned during yesterday's session in Parliament, in recent years there has been a rapid development of outpatient services for the provision of community nursing care, while there are also requests for the provision of community obstetrics. "The absence of basic standards to ensure a satisfactory level of services offered are key weaknesses of the current applied system at the risk of exploiting citizens," he said and explained that "with the proposed bill, the Ministry of Health aims to introduce a comprehensive legislative framework for the provision of services related to outpatient care for people in need of community nursing and community midwifery."
Through the bill, the basic principles of community nursing provision are regulated and the control and supervision mechanism of all community nursing and community midwifery services is defined, whether they are provided by a state or private body.
For the licensing and supervision of companies / organizations providing these services, the competent Authority will be the Ministry of Health through the Directorate of Nursing Services. The "Superintendent" is defined as the Director of Nursing Services and community nursing services will be provided by registered qualified nurses (general nursing or mental health) and midwives with a valid license to practice.
"The license to establish for the provision of community nursing services to a company / organization will be issued by the superintendent after the relevant opinion of the advisory committee for the evaluation of applications (the establishment of which is also provided for in the bill), upon application to him by the managing person." The operating licence will be renewed every three years and after payment of the necessary fees.
"Each company/organization providing community nursing services must have its own name, which will be recognized by its operating license" and licensed community nursing and community midwifery care service providers will adopt and apply "frameworks of scientifically documented and internationally recognized methods of approaches and programs, as defined in the Nursing and Midwifery Law".
For the provision of these services, it will be required to have the minimum building and special equipment, which will be determined by regulations, which, as provided for in the bill, will be issued by the Council of Ministers and are implemented by decree of the Minister of Health. The first regulations to enter into force must be prepared within six months of the legislation being passed. Six months after the enactment of the legislation is also the period defined as the transitional time for the submission of applications for licensing by existing providers of these services. The companies / organizations that will be licensed will be registered in a relevant register which will be kept by the nursing services directorate. "The services of community nursing and community midwifery of the Republic, which are called "state services", do not need to follow the registration procedure but are automatically registered upon the establishment of their operation.
During the meeting, some disagreements were expressed, mainly by the bodies representing nurses and midwives, on specific provisions of the bill. Reference has been made to various points on which, as has been said, there are ambiguities and each side has expressed its views. On the part of doctors, the opinion was expressed that the bill should also provide for the role of doctors in the process of providing community nursing services to patients.
Following this development – and after hearing the views of all sides – the parliamentary committee decided not to set the starting date for the article-by-article discussion of the bill, calling on the Ministry of Health to convene a new meeting in order to consult and return the bill to Parliament with the agreement of all. For this process, one month was given to all involved and it was decided that the bill will be put back for discussion in mid-February.
Diabetics are concerned about the handling of the HIO
The Health Insurance Organization gave the assurance that very soon, people with diabetes and especially children will have more options regarding insulin pumps and glucose meters. The meeting was held following concerns expressed by patient associations, who argue that the way the HIO handles the process of integrating these medical devices into the GHS is wrong.
On behalf of the HIO, it was mentioned that today expires the deadline available to interested companies to submit their comments on the specifications set by the organization in the relevant notice. According to Gnossia Achniotou, on behalf of the HIO, the organization's goal is with the new procedure to integrate several options into the GHS and patients to have the right to choose the equipment that is most suitable for them by paying the necessary co-payment (as is the case with medicines).
The reservations of parents of children with diabetes, as well as some associations, about the standards set by the HIO, but also about whether all companies that have these equipment will have the right to participate, were great and the Health Committee committed that in case the procedures of the Health Insurance Organization prove to be wrong, the issue will return to discussion.
Program for Prisons by the Addictions Authority
The Cyprus Addictions Authority is preparing to start a program in Central Prisons, immediately after the approval of its budget for 2024 by the Parliament. "The outline of this program has already been prepared and it is expected that a new meeting will now take place with the prison administration and with the justice minister to take decisions," the AAEK president said, presenting the Authority's budget yesterday. As far as the budget is concerned, it forecasts revenues totalling €3.4 million coming from €3.1 million from state sponsorship and €300,000 from other sources. The budget debate will begin in the House Health Committee next Thursday.
