The state health services organisation (Okypy) is lying about the incident involving an elderly woman pictured laying naked in a hospital bed, the doctor Marios Kyriazis said on Wednesday.
In previous days, Kyriazis had published the image of the woman on social media, which caused an uproar, and prompted Okypy to say they will take legal action, but also that they launched an investigation into the incident.
However, the doctor that published the photo said: “Okypy is lying publicly to save its image.”
Answering to a claim from Okypy that the woman was left in that state for a few minutes, Kyriazis told CyBC: “This is ridiculous. There is no medical reason to leave the patient naked. Also, I have proof written and recorded that the incident lasted for almost two to three hours at least.”
He added that the woman was allegedly yelling for help for around three hours and asking for water.
Kyriazis, who is a gerontologist, said that the phot was not an isolated incident, as he has seen many similar cases in Cyprus.
The Third Age Observatory group said on Tuesday that there are over 40 such cases.
Commenting on Wednesday, Kyriazis said: “We work together with the observatory. We confirm between ourselves that this is not an isolated incident.”
Weighing in on the discussion, the head of the patients’ association (Osak) Marios Kouloumas said that there are many cases, and that the issue is “huge”.
He said that they are working together with observatory, and that they are close to signing a memorandum to cooperate further.
On Tuesday, in an attempt to assuage the situation, Okypy spokesman Pambos Charilaou said that the image was “taken in an instant” and did not reflect the reality of the situation.
He told Ant1 TV: “The human dignity of patients is non-negotiable. Certainly, the organisation will fully investigate the incident, but the photo was taken inside a room with curtains where the personal space of the patient was violated.”
Okypy claimed that things are not as they appear in the photo and that its taking and publication violates the patient’s human rights.
Charilaou later told Sigma TV that the picture at Limassol general was taken without the consent of the family.
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