Cyprus is the only EU country without a university hospital, MPs hear

Cyprus is the only European country that does not have a university teaching hospital and this is to the detriment of both the academic and medical communities, MPs heard on Thursday.

Disy MP and vice chairwoman of the parliamentary committee on health, Savia Orphanidou,
told reporters that the committee had extended the deadline for the new bill for two more months. The draft legislation is aimed at establishing university clinics and hospitals.

The bill, which has been before MPs for over two years, was sent back to the committee a year and a half ago for headway to be made on key issues, however, this timeframe proved insufficient.

As of now, the health committee gave a two-month extension to the ministry and all stakeholders to come up with a comprehensive text with as much agreement in wording as possible. “We all agree that we must proceed immediately with the passage of this bill, in order to upgrade the academic community in Cyprus and the services provided under Gesy,” Orphanidou added.

Diko MP, Chrysanthos Savvides, added that “practical experience is the alpha and the omega of [medical] training. It is not possible for medical students graduates to not train in university clinics.”

Savvides added that many students admitted to the University of Cyprus, nonetheless choose to study in Greece, due to the lack of Cypriot medical university clinics. Students who do in study Cyprus, also eventually end up having to go abroad for the same reason. “Medicine is not a theoretical study,” Savvides said.

“We must immediately proceed with the creation of university clinics and I consider that everyone must adhere to the schedules so that, before parliament closes, the specific bill passes,” he concluded.