Parents of children with haematological and oncological conditions are raising the alarm regarding the planned construction works at Makareio Hospital.
They cite scientific data indicating that construction projects near clinics treating immunocompromised and high-risk patients are extremely dangerous.
PASYKI, the Pancyprian Association of Government Doctors, warns of the Health Insurance Organisation’s (HIO) hasty decision-making and actions that deviate from best scientific practices.
The Cyprus Pediatric Society expresses concern and emphasises the danger posed to child patients. Yet, some insist on pushing through with their decision!
We do not claim to be experts in this field, nor do we possess such scientific knowledge. However, common sense dictates: Is it possible that doctors are highlighting the risks, that paediatricians, who are even more specialised, are underscoring the dangers of this effort and that parents of children with haematological and oncological conditions express terror for their children’s health, and yet they are all wrong?
Firstly, to understand the nature of the issue, let’s consider the warning issued by the Pediatric Society: “It is well-documented in the international literature that any construction works near clinics treating immunocompromised and high-risk patients have been associated with an increase in hospital fungal infections, specifically aspergillosis, a potentially fatal infection with mortality rates exceeding 90%.”
Is it possible for those at the HIO to ignore this scientific opinion? Is it possible for them to insist on construction works near the Pediatric Oncology Clinic at Makareio Hospital? Are they willing to put this vulnerable category of children at risk?
In the face of strong opposition from parents and medical professionals, the HIO has attempted to find a solution, but in a very hasty manner. For instance, they suggested temporarily relocating the Pediatric Oncology Clinic to another part of the hospital (e.g., the gynaecology ward) until the construction works are completed.
This proposal does little to reassure parents, as the care of infection-prone children requires a specially designed, adequately protected space, not just any other ward with potentially unsuitable conditions.
To understand the insistence on this decision, one must look into the history of the matter. The medical and nursing staff, as well as the parents of former and current child patients with such conditions, have long advocated for the construction of a new hospital for mothers and children. They had even proposed building it near the Nicosia General Hospital to facilitate the various necessary examinations performed there.
They envisioned a state-of-the-art hospital, with architecture and infrastructure enabling medical, nursing, and other staff to provide high-level healthcare services, equipped with modern technology. This was the characteristic description given to this column by a source with intimate knowledge of the situation.
Instead, the state chose to include the expansion and upgrade of Makareio Hospital in the Recovery Fund, securing €25 million (the total cost is estimated at around €47 million). Notably, this decision was made without consulting the doctors, nurses, and parents of child patients.
One might counter that the state and the government of the day are the competent authorities to make such decisions. However, in such sensitive matters, the failure to engage in dialogue with those directly involved can only be described as criminal.
To fully grasp the extent of this insistence, it is important to understand that this partial modernisation of Makareio Hospital effectively seals the fate of the long-standing demand for a new, modern hospital to replace the existing one, which was built in 1984!
Whatever the reason for this insistence on the Makareio upgrade, the crux of the matter currently lies solely in the health of children with cancer. No one has the right to risk the health, let alone the life, of even a single child bravely fighting for their life within the Pediatric Oncology Clinic.
No one has the right to disregard the warnings of the most specialised professionals, the paediatricians and pediatric oncologists. Is there anyone in the HIO leadership who dares to take the risk of a child contracting an infection during the construction works?
Is there anyone in the Ministry of Health or the Government who dares to assume the risk of losing even one child’s life? It is high time that, in this country, life is placed at the very top of the priority list.
It is time to learn to value health above all else, not just in words but in the quality of service offered!
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