Private hospitals in the General Healthcare System (GHS) have closed beds because they do not have enough nurses to operate within the limits set by law, according to Giorgos Pantelides, president of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB). Parliament is due to discuss hiring nurses from non-EU countries on Thursday.
Pantelides, who represents private hospitals, told Phileleftheros the problem had already hit hospitals in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca, and from time to time spread to others depending on their staffing. One hospital had been forced to leave an entire ward idle, while each of the others had closed a double-digit number of beds. The shortage had troubled the private sector for a third year running, he said.
Hospitals were trying to avoid postponing operations or reducing or deferring admissions, he added, warning: “If we reach that point too, patients will certainly be affected as well.”
What the bills propose
The Health Ministry submitted the amendments to parliament months ago, Pantelides said. The two amending bills before the House Health Committee contain four main changes. Nurses and midwives from non-EU countries would need at least a moderate knowledge of Greek, as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, and could make up no more than 10 per cent of the nurses and midwives at each hospital. Non-EU nurses and midwives would not be allowed to serve as shift supervisors. Their licences to practise would be valid for two years, while graduates of Cypriot universities would be exempt from submitting a specific certificate when registering.
Employers’ objections
Pantelides argued that provisions added to the amendments to win the consent of trade unions would be anything but helpful.
He said there was talk of requiring Greek at B2 level, which takes almost two years of lessons to reach. If that requirement stood, it would be another two years before private hospitals could be staffed, so the amendment would bring them no real benefit even if it passed. Hospitals also considered knowledge of Greek desirable, he said, but setting the bar very high could easily lead people to think it served other purposes.
Under the 10 per cent cap, a hospital with 100 nurses could employ ten from non-EU countries, a number he said was too small to affect communication with patients or how well they were kept informed.
According to a Health Ministry study, nursing needs are estimated at around 600, he said, or 700 to 750 once another 100 are added for laws on palliative care and community nursing that have yet to be implemented. Ten per cent of that was a very small number of non-EU health professionals to cause such controversy, he argued, reiterating that those he speaks for consider the cap very low compared with the rules for all other sectors of the economy.
Last April, on the eve of parliamentary elections, the House Health Committee decided not to proceed with the discussion, citing the pre-election period and strong reactions from trade unions. The bills’ fate will depend largely on the stance of the parliamentary parties.
Phileleftheros understands that both trade unions and private sector representatives have been in contact with parliamentary parties and other health sector bodies in recent months. Thursday’s discussion is expected to show where things stand.
