Health Ministry officials told parliament’s Labour Committee on Tuesday that implementing a government decision to pay patients an advance before they travel abroad for treatment would double their workload. They added that the amount was not easy to calculate, so there was a risk of paying more than was due.
Patient groups told the committee that the state was leaving families to rely on fundraisers and donations. “You are forcing us to substitute for the state,” their representatives said, adding that they had heard the same things at the committee exactly a year ago.
For two years, organised patient groups have protested about long delays in state support for the accommodation and food costs of patients and their companions who travel abroad for treatment. The government has acknowledged the problem and announced measures.
MPs questioned whether administrative difficulties justified not paying advances to people who need to travel for treatment. They pointed out that during the pandemic, procedures had been used to recover money from workers and employers who received more than they were entitled to, and suggested a small percentage could be paid first so families had money for initial expenses.
“I know how what I said sounds and I have it in mind,” the Health Ministry representative said. They acknowledged there was a staffing shortage, but said changes to the scheme were being promoted, partly to cut the time needed to process applications. The ministry is proposing to scrap the income criteria, which is expected to be approved, and to pay companions an allowance whether or not they stay at the hospital abroad, as some have to rent separate accommodation, they said.
Patient groups
A representative of the Cyprus Federation of Patients’ Associations (OSAK) said the organisations knew first hand the needs of children and adults sent abroad for specialised care. At last year’s session it had been agreed that the ministries would return with proposals, but patients were still in the same place, they said.
Other patient groups asked whether the same discussion would be repeated every October without decisions being taken. They called for higher allowances for children and adults, and for an advance before departure with the balance paid after the patient returns.
Many patients or relatives have to give up work and face serious financial difficulties, they said, and some people avoid asking the associations for help because they find it demeaning, and suffer in silence. They asked how the state could fail to give a parent the money for a plane ticket in time. They also described families who stay abroad for years, renting homes while still carrying their financial obligations in Cyprus.
The mother of a child with cancer said that, as a civil servant, she had been able to use her sick leave, unlike other parents who lack the same protection. When a child is ill, she said, the family’s needs go beyond treatment costs, as there are siblings and day-to-day financial obligations continue. She said associations were being forced to fill gaps left by the state through fundraisers and donations, and that patient organisations should not become ‘benefactors’ or create relationships of dependency. She also disagreed with limiting financial support to the period of hospital treatment, saying many patients continue to struggle long after treatment ends.
The representatives said not all hospitals abroad provide accommodation and state support does not always cover the full cost. Because of Cyprus’s size, sending patients abroad for some specialised treatments is unavoidable, and the state must organise its support accordingly, they said. They called for special paid leave for parents of children with cancer and other serious illnesses, with protection from dismissal and safeguards for their employment rights.
Carers and parental leave
A Labour Ministry representative said informal carers, mainly relatives and especially parents who give up work to care for sick family members, would be recognised under the pension reform, so that time spent caring would count towards pension rights. Further changes to the parental leave allowance were being examined, they said, including increasing it, paying it for longer and allowing it to be used every year.
At the end of the session, the committee asked the Labour Ministry for written decisions and a timetable for carrying out what had been said, within November. The representative expressed reservations, describing it personally as “somewhat unfeasible” to have proposals ready by then. They cited work on the pension reform bill and the financial implications of the requests, and said the ministry had already taken steps.
The committee asked for its demand for written answers within November to be passed on to the Labour Ministry’s political leadership. It will return to the issue then.
