Introduction of Gesy lauded as president opens hospital wing 

It is with joy that someone inaugurates projects in the health sector, especially as they demonstrate the priorities set by the government to create the conditions for the provision of high quality medical and pharmaceutical services to society, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Sunday.

He was at Famagusta hospital to open a new wing to include a blood dialysis unit and mastography facilities.

Recognising the increased needs of the wider area, the president said upgrading the hospital’s operation became a priority.

The hospital became the centre of treatment for Covid patients during the pandemic, which Anastasiades called “one of the most important links in the chain set up to deal with and manage the pandemic”. He thanked all those who had worked in the hospital towards this effort.

The new wing was created at a cost of €3 million.

He said the new wing will not only reduce waiting times for people of the area but significantly increase the level of care offered to locals and visitors to one of the most important tourist areas of our country.

“After all, this, namely the creation of infrastructure, was the goal of the broader policy we adopted, demonstrating strong political will and determination regarding the implementation and application of the national health system Gesy, the largest social reform in the country,” Anastasiades said.

Anastasiades has been on something of a tour of the island in recent weeks laying foundation stones for various projects, but he defended his actions on Sunday.

“I want to inaugurate projects that were executed during the days of the present administration, and it is the right, after all, of the president, when his government carries out projects, to inaugurate them”.

He although thanked all those involved who had the political will to introduce the Gesy system.

It is natural, he added, that the introduction of such a large project as Gesy will have omissions but he said these will be worked on over time to create a “system that works perfectly”

The expansion of the hospital has seen the addition of 54 new beds on the second and third floors, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said, the creation of which took 15 weeks at a cost of €1.6 million.

The new dialysis unit, he added, was created in “record time” – nine months.

The creation of the mammorgaphy centre was part of a national policy, he said, to improve screening for breast cancer, which has seen the scans now offered to women above the age of 45.

On Friday, Hadjipantela visited the same hospital with a team of orthopedic surgeons from Shriners Hospitals in America, and actions are now underway to perform surgeries at the hospital for children from the Middle East.