The new haemodialysis unit at the Paphos general hospital is suffering from a “major shortage” of nursing staff, unit director Lakis Yioukkas said on Wednesday.

He said a total of 17 nurses currently work at the unit, and that they cannot possibly operate all 25 dialysis stations.

“If we operated all 25 dialysis stations, we would not have a night shift,” he said, adding that he had had no choice but to open the new unit in October with the same number of nurses as worked in the smaller old unit, as “if we had expected a full complement of staff, the operation would not have started”.

“Today, the unit operates with the main staff which existed at the old dialysis unit, and with 16 dialysis stations in three shifts,” he said, adding that “efforts are now being made” to find more nurses to staff the unit.

He also pointed out that there is currently “no problem” with the number of doctors working at the unit.

Additionally, he drew attention to the existence of a separate peritoneal dialysis unit, which has not yet been operational, a “yellow unit” for carriers of hepatitis B, and a short-term hospitalisation unit for Covid-19 patients, describing these areas as “innovative changes”.

“At the moment, we have a patient being treated in the yellow unit who previously used to go back and forth to Nicosia,” he said.

He also said a transplant coordinator will soon begin working at the unit to serve people who intend to donate kidneys to their relatives.

The new unit entered service nine months ago and was inaugurated by President Nikos Christodoulides and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in October.

The shortage of nurses in Cyprus has been a running theme for much of the year, with the employers’ and industrialists’ federation (Oev) having warned in May that some clinics could be forced to suspend their operations if Cyprus’ nursing shortage “is not resolved immediately”.

They had said Cyprus’ nursing needs have “proven to be unable to me bet either by the local or by the European labour market” and cited similar nursing shortages faced by countries across the European Union.

For this reason, they said, the “only way out” is for nurses to be hired from third countries, and for third country nationals who study nursing in Cyprus to be “utilised” in the domestic market.

Fears of staff shortages also came about weeks after Pasydy’s nursing branch had said nurses are “often treated with contempt” in Cyprus.