The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) has suspended its General Health System (GHS) contract with a private clinic in Nicosia, after the clinic’s operating licence was suspended over the detection of legionella bacteria.
While the suspension lasts, the clinic cannot operate as a contracted GHS provider of inpatient care. It may not admit new patients through the system or submit claims for services provided during the suspension.
The HIO said it began the process as soon as it received official notification from the Health Ministry’s Registrar of Private Hospitals, and the contract was suspended the same day. The suspension took effect from the date and time the licence suspension order was issued and will remain in force for as long as the licence is suspended.
Patients already in the clinic are being managed in line with the law and the instructions of the competent authority, the HIO said. Only the Registrar can issue, lift or cancel orders concerning private hospitals’ operating licences, it added. If the licence suspension is lifted, the clinic will have to submit official documentation to the HIO so that restoring its GHS contract can be considered.
The HIO said it was closely following developments and taking the action that falls within its remit.
A newborn baby who was born at the clinic and developed serious symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease is still being treated at Makarios Hospital.
Health Ministry services expect results on Thursday from laboratory tests on samples taken from the clinic’s water supply and from the home where the newborn’s family lives.
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