Pafos Live 20 December 2024
I brought to public attention 10 days ago with my public statements the waste of public money in the HIO by a specific medical procedure, neurolysis.
This is a medical procedure that before the implementation of the GHS in Cyprus, was performed in less than 100 numbers per year, while in 2023 4,500 were performed at a cost to the GHS of more than €17 million, while in 2024, so far, 3,300 have been made at a cost of more than €13 million. I have been informed by several doctors that complaints have been made in previous years but these were ignored by HIO officials, not by chance.
The remuneration of clinics, which includes the doctor's fee, amounts to up to €3,200 per medical operation, while the consumables related to the "needle" of surgery amounted to €1200 and now to €650. It is noted that in Greece, exactly the same "needle" from the same company is charged €268. The medical procedure is registered as inpatient and is performed in the operating room or CT scanner with a duration of 15 to 20 minutes and the patient departs immediately for home.
It is obvious that there is huge abuse in the number of neurolysis but also that it is extremely absurd how much is paid for this medical procedure and the consumables used are charged. The NHS, based on very reliable information, should not pay more than €1 million in both years for neurolysis. Therefore, for two years alone, the abuse has exceeded €30 million, i.e. what would be needed for the renovation of Pafos General Hospital. Some made huge fortunes by embezzling substantial money from the state, always with the tolerance of mediocre and incompetent HIO officials.
A meaningful question to HIO Senior Officer Panagiotis Petrou: Why, Mr. Petrou, did you urgently convene a meeting on the issue of neurolysis the day after I made public statements? Is there something that worries you or is there something that you realized was wrong? I will come back to that.
Phedon Phedonos, Mayor of Pafos
