Cyprus Mail 21 February 2025 - by Tom Cleaver
The government is to create a paramedics’ registry, Health Minister Michael Damianos said on Friday.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, he said the bill will “secure” the profession, adding that it has been “particularly requested” by paramedics themselves.
“There is an agreement between the parties, because the profession is being secured for the future,” he said.
The bill will be put before cabinet on Wednesday, the final day before the deadline which had been set by paramedics for a bill to “protect” their profession to be approved on the threat of refusing to work overtime.
Paramedics had initially planned to refuse to work overtime this week, but Cyprus ambulance crew paramedics association chairman Michalis Arestis said on Sunday that he had received written assurance from Health Minister Michael Damianos that such a bill is to be “imminently” brought before cabinet.
Then, he said, it will be sent to parliament for a vote.
“The minister managed to send us a letter in writing saying that the processing of the bill by the legal service has been completed and that he has it unofficially in his hand,” he said, adding that Damianos had assured him that he will officially take receipt of the bill on Monday.
Paramedics had initially said they would refuse to work overtime between Monday and Saturday in protest at what they describe as the “continuous understaffing” of the ambulance service.
Trade union Isotita had said understaffing “seriously undermines public safety and threatens the quality of the emergency pre-hospital care services provided”.
“It is time for the state to act responsibly towards paramedics and towards the public who the paramedics serve daily with selflessness and professionalism. We expect immediate actions from the authorities to resolve our fair demands,” it added.
Additionally, it said, there have been “unjustified delays” in recruiting new personnel and in creating a registry for paramedics, adding that the situation is currently “intolerable”.
“We are determined to proceed with any mobilisations required until we are vindicated. We hope for an immediate and substantial response from the authorities, so that we are not led to any further escalation of our measures, with whatever this may entail for the proper functioning of the health system,” it added.
