Polis Chrysochous hospital remains without inpatient ward

Polis Chrysochous hospital will get a day care ward counter to the demand of residents for the reoperation of the inpatient ward which closed during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The request of the municipality for the reopening of the inpatient wards of the local hospital was the focus of a meeting held on Wednesday at the health ministry.

After the meeting, which was chaired by Health Minister Michalis Hadjipandela, the local authority issued a statement expressing dissatisfaction with the outcome, saying state health services organisation (Okypy) continue to degrade the area’s health facility.

According to their announcement, the meeting was held in a very tense atmosphere, as efforts of the local authorities to upgrade the hospital failed to bear fruit, adding that unfortunately there is no such intention from Okypy.

This is despite the promises made at the previous meetings in April and July, where a one-month timeframe was given to Okypy to submit its proposal for a way to operate the wards in a sustainable manner.

“It has once again become apparent that the intention of Okypy is the permanent closure of the wards,” the municipality noted.

The proposal put forward by the state health services organisation, the statement added, is to set up five beds for day-care next month. Depending on the results of the day-care ward’s operation, they will re-evaluate at a later stage how to operate the hospital.

On the contrary, local authorities proposed to reopen the wards immediately, which, combined with the proper staffing and operation of the first aid, chemistry and radiology departments, would lead to the provision of comprehensive medical care and treatment.

The health ministry and Okypy suspended the operation of the wards due to the transfer of nurses and doctors from Polis Chrysochous hospital to staff the Covid wards of Paphos and Limassol hospitals. Then, the municipality said it received promises that this arrangement would be temporary.

Hence, the statement called on the president and the health minister to personally address the problem and urge Okypy to meet the demand of the residents for the provision of proper medical care and treatment by reopening the inpatient wards.