A 24-HOUR LOCKDOWN IN THE PRIVATE HEALTH SECTOR IS ON THE TABLE - THE NUMBERS SHOW A SHORTAGE OF 600 NURSES - Filenews 31/3 by Marilena Panayi
The bodies representing the private health service providers will even discuss the suspension of their operation for at least 24 hours during today's afternoon meeting between them, and as we are informed, their measures may be extended later, thus affecting the operation of the entire health system of the country on a more permanent basis.
The meeting, which, according to information from "F", will be attended by representatives of private hospitals, whether or not they belong to the Pancyprian Association of Private Hospitals, representatives of radiodiagnostic centers and clinical laboratories, representatives of rehabilitation centers, the Pancyprian Medical Association as a representative of all doctors who employ nurses in their practices and other providers of health services in the private sector.
According to the same information, the Federation of Cyprus Patients' Associations was invited and will attend the meeting, more as an observer, since the lack of nurses and the possibility of temporary or then permanent closure of hospitalization clinics will affect first and foremost patients.
During today's meeting, the needs of the private sector for nurses will initially be recorded.
It is recalled that based on what has been said in the previous months, the needs to cover the absolutely necessary, as provided for by the legislation governing the operation of health service structures, exceed 600 additional nurses. The capacity study prepared by the Ministry of Health seems to end up with a similar number and in addition to the needs of private hospitals, the needs arising from the adoption of new legislation, such as the law on the operation of rehabilitation centers and palliative care centers, must be added to the equation.
From the same study, it also seems to emerge that the problem with the shortage of nurses will be observed in the next, at least five, years.
After recording needs by professional group and sector, the participants in the meeting will finalize the measures they will take together and for which they have been warning since the summer of 2025, with all the efforts made so far not having led to a solution to the problem.
In addition to the proposal for a 24-hour suspension of all work, on the table, at least on the part of the Federation of Employers and Industrialists, whose members are most of the bodies that have registered to participate in today's meeting, measures that will have a more permanent character will be put on the table, such as for example, the closure of beds in departments of private hospital clinics.
It is recalled that the problem saw the light of day, for the first time in July 2025, when one of the largest private hospitals in the country received a notice from the Ministry of Health to suspend its operation due to its non-compliance with the provisions of the legislation regarding the ratio of nurses / beds in specific departments.
However, it must be considered certain that the private sector will turn their fire against both the Parliament and the government.
Any measures decided and implemented by the private health sector must be considered certain that the General Health System as a whole will be affected.
Not even the effort of the last week paid off
Today's meeting was announced by OEB two weeks ago when the parliamentary parties had decided, at the level of the parliamentary committee on Health, not to discuss the two amendments put before them by the Minister of Health, Neophytos Charalambidis and aimed to facilitate the employment of nurses from third countries.
One amendment corrected a specific distortion in the way foreign nurses are licensed and the second raised the required level of knowledge of the Greek language.
The stance taken by the parties at the time was not at all unrelated to the pre-election period we are going through, but also to the organized reaction of the unions and other bodies representing nurses in Cyprus.
In the week that followed, intense background unfolded, with AKEL informing the Nursing students of the Cyprus University of Technology about it and DISY accompanying the unions to the office of the Minister of Health for a new meeting.
During this meeting, no agreement was reached, on the amendments proposed by the Minister, protesting Nursing students gathered outside the Parliament and finally the two proposals were put in the drawers of the Parliament for good.
Last week, according to information from "F" and after a meeting this time between the private sector and the Minister of Health, the possibility of preparing a law proposal on the part of the parties was put on the table (in order to be able to discuss it with the character of urgency with the aim of being discussed without delay by the Plenary Session of the Parliament).
The aim of the law proposal was to differentiate the ratios of nurses / beds, which private hospitals have been characterizing for some time as very strict, and thus to save nursing staff in the private sector.
There seemed to be a consensus from some of the parties, while, as we are informed, contacts were also made with specific MPs.
However, this possibility was subsequently rejected, with the result that the Parliament reached the end of its work and its dissolution due to parliamentary elections and there was, at the moment, not much room for any changes (there is one session left and possibly another extraordinary one, if the parties decide to do so).
