The government is studying the involvement of state aircraft in the process of transporting patients abroad, with the President of the Republic having already informed the organized patients of his intentions during yesterday's meeting with the "Social Alliance for the Citizen".
In fact, according to information from "F", the President of the Republic is planning a meeting with the Ministers of Defense and Transport next week, in order to examine whether it is possible to involve their competent Services in this process, with the aim, if there is a positive result, to make the relevant announcements within the following days.
The government's intentions, of course, are not at all unrelated to the recent incident in which a patient was not transported to Greece in time to undergo a lung transplant due to the inability of the foreign private bodies with which the Health Insurance Organization cooperates, to respond within the medically acceptable schedules that had been set. And this issue was inevitably raised yesterday for discussion, as in the previous period the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations had emphasized the need for the availability of an aircraft that will be based in Cyprus and will meet the needs of Cypriot citizens/patients.
The Social Alliance for the Citizen held yesterday its first meeting (after its establishment) with the President of the Republic and consists of OSAK, the Cyprus Confederation of Organizations of the Disabled and the Observatory of the Elderly.
During the meeting, the three bodies reiterated to the President of the Republic the need to create an organized system for the provision of health services and care to bedridden patients in general, but also to elderly citizens who need support both in terms of their medical care and in terms of their living in general. The aim of this effort is longevity and healthy old age and, as agreed, the Alliance will discuss the various aspects with the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare in order to include in the same framework issues that fall within its competence, such as informal caregivers and pension issues.
As far as people with disabilities are concerned, the bill prepared by the government and currently in the Legal Service was put up for discussion. As the three bodies were informed, it is not excluded that it will be put before the Council of Ministers during its meeting on March 4, with the aim, as it was emphasized, of being passed into law before the dissolution of Parliament next April, so that its implementation can begin within 2026.
In addition, the three bodies asked for more cooperation and involvement in the design stage of the various bills concerning the population groups they represent, so that large disagreements do not arise later and when the bills enter the public consultation process, which usually lead to unnecessary delays in the passage of legislation.
Finally, the possibility of appointing an accessibility officer to all Ministries was put up for discussion with the aim of this officer being the first point of contact of the Alliance with the state.
It was agreed that, by next Tuesday, the Alliance for the Citizen will send the President of the Republic a list of the various pending issues that need immediate settlement so that instructions can be given to the Ministers involved to promote them.
The President of the Republic informed, at the same time, that during the next meeting of the Council of Ministers, the establishment of meetings with the Alliance for the Citizen every four months will be finalized, so that there is continuous monitoring of the various issues that arise or are promoted, at any time.
In their statements, after the end of the meeting, the presidents of the three bodies explained that their goal is to jointly promote the various issues that concern almost 50% of the inhabitants of Cyprus who are either chronically ill, or people with disabilities or elderly people. "That is, we seek to solve all problems as a whole and all issues to be discussed and studied comprehensively with the involvement and participation of all competent Ministries and Deputy Ministries."
