State doctors to discuss working weekend in a meeting

A meeting between representatives of the health insurance organisation (HIO), the Cyrpus medical association and the state health services (Okypy) is set to take place on Thursday at 9.30am after a scheduled three-hour work stoppage called by state doctors was called off late on Wednesday.

The decision to suspend the work stoppage, that was set for 9am to 12pm on Thursday in protest against the weekend operation of clinics, was announced after a meeting with the Cyprus medical association and the HIO on the issue, where they agreed to extend the implementation until July, instead of next week.

“We need to ensure that a structured and productive dialogue between the parties involved takes place in order to guarantee the best possible health services to our patients,” the head of the doctors’ unions Pasyki Sotiris Koumas told the Cyprus News Agency.

Nevertheless, the HIO on Wednesday reiterated its intention to implement the operation of weekend clinics.

Under the new proposed operation hours, the clinics are scheduled to operate out of normal working hours at state hospital outpatient clinics while they will be open for eight hours on Saturdays and for four hours on Sundays and national holidays.