The search for a caregiver for a child supported by a ventilator, the €200 per month he pays for products needed and the five-hour waiting for a patient's bed for an ambulance are included in the complaints recorded by the OSAK Patient Rights Observatory in August.
On the list of complaints is the family's anxiety about how to safely continue the care of a patient who may be discharged, while he needs respiratory support, with OSAK emphasizing the need to fill a huge gap that despite constant assurances remains unfilled.
In total, 30 complaints were submitted to the Patient Observatory last month with most registered in the category of access to health services, followed by spending issues.
She is looking for a caregiver for her child
A mother of a child with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia, who is supported by a ventilator, turned to OSAK looking for a person who could take care of him in the province where they live. Her request concerns a constant need of everyday life, for which the family needs a suitable person.
The Federation informed the mother that it does not have a list of caregivers to recommend specific people. However, she contacted a patient organization and conveyed the request to her in order to give all the necessary help to the mother.
Patients pay out of pocket
A different difficulty is faced by a patient who, after treatments for cancer, reports that he has a serious incontinence problem. According to his complaint, the products he receives through the GHS do not adequately meet his needs. For this reason, he buys another product, paying about €200 every month.
OSAK instructed him to discuss with his treating doctor whether he can receive a different, more suitable product through the System.
"The issue of the suitability of consumables and other products that patients need in order to meet important needs for their dignified living, has been of great concern to OSAK and we have made several representations to the Health Insurance Organization," the secretary of OSAK, Charalambos Papadopoulos, told "F".
He pointed out, at the same time, that recently the Federation has been informed about other patients who pay for consumables themselves: Either to secure them privately, or through high contributions.
"This is a particularly serious issue which concerns various types of consumables as well as medical equipment and we certainly find that, possibly, significant differentiations are needed in the procedures followed, when these result in burdening patients," he noted.
According to him, the issue of dietary preparations that patients need but do not receive through the GHS also remains pending. The Federation has submitted a written request to the HIO, requesting that the issue be examined.
What will happen after discharge?
The need for safe continuation of care was raised at OSAK by the father of a patient who is supported by a ventilator, has a tracheostomy and is on a waiting list for a lung transplant. As he mentioned, the family was informed that a discharge may be issued. A previous attempt to transfer the patient to a rehabilitation center was not possible due to the complexity of his case.
Relatives state that they cannot safely provide him at home with the care and constant monitoring he needs. OSAK clarified to the father that the decision to continue hospitalization or discharge is medical. However, he instructed him to ask the treatment team and the hospital management for a specific plan for the safe exit and aftercare. If returning home cannot be done safely, he indicated that a suitable alternative structure or service should be explored.
Even taking home after an exam proved difficult, according to another complaint. A bedridden patient reported that, after her examination in an A&E was completed, she waited about five hours for an ambulance, because there was no vehicle available. She also expressed dissatisfaction with the conditions and care during her waiting.
OSAK instructed her to contact the Patient Rights Officer of the hospital for the part of the complaint concerning her stay in the A&E and the Ambulance Service for the delay in the transfer.
Questions about the transfer and complaint to an A&E
He asked to be transferred to a specific hospital, but was transferred to another. A relative of a patient told OSAK that, after the appearance of symptoms that he described as a mild stroke, the ambulance crew was asked to transfer him to a specific A&E. According to him, the patient was eventually transferred to the nearest hospital. He asked for clarification of the criteria for choosing the destination and whether the patient's desire is taken into account. He had already submitted the complaint to the competent body and was waiting for information.
A patient complains of a long wait despite the bleeding. A woman reported that she came to the A&E with an injury and bleeding and informed the staff that she was receiving anticoagulant treatment. She claimed that she waited many hours before her trauma was treated and complained that other patients were served sooner. OSAK instructed her to file a formal complaint with the hospital's Patient Rights Officer.
Delays and shortages of medicines
A relative of an oncology patient contacted OSAK, asking for information about a request for approval of treatment submitted by the attending physician, without the family knowing its progress. The Federation forwarded the complaint and was informed by the competent body that the request had been examined and the lawsuit was approved.
In another case, a heart patient reported that he could not find in pharmacies the preparation he needed for her treatment. According to what she conveyed, her doctor had informed her that there was no substitute, which intensified her concern about a possible interruption of the treatment. After the complaint was forwarded, OSAK was informed that the drug had arrived in Cyprus and was expected to be made available in pharmaceutical warehouses.
Questions were also raised by the interruption of the distribution of a drug taken by a kidney patient. Her daughter reported that after changing the treatment, she noticed a deterioration in her mother's health. According to the information received by OSAK, the interruption was associated with the closure of the production unit and the depletion of inventory.
