Nurses’ trade union Pasyno on Friday decried understaffing at Cyprus’ hospitals, declaring that hospitals “cannot depend on overtime” and thus requesting that they be “appropriately and sufficiently staffed”.

They expressed “strong concern about the situation prevailing in the state health services organisation (Okypy)” and called for an immediate investigation to “resolve the serious problems which may have come about due to deliberate actions or omissions”.

To this end, they pointed to a report into Okypy’s actions filed by then-auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides at the end of 2022, which stated that Okypy, “every day cites financial reasons and does not hire staff despite the increased needs due to the operation of new units and departments”.

They pointed out that a new 15-bed intensive care unit requiring 65 nurses, a transplant clinic, a special infections unit, a children’s accident and emergency unit and a pulmonary clinic at the Troodos hospital have all been opened in recent years and that these new units across the island have exacerbated the issue of understaffing.

“We understand that further expansions will take place in the future, but the financial viability of Okypy cannot be an excuse for a lack of staffing in these departments. At the moment, the existing nursing staff are forced to work overtime to cover the understaffing,” the union said.

They added that the issue of understanding “does not only concern nurses, but all staff”.

“Proper staffing is critical for the smooth and effective operation of hospitals and the provision of quality care to patients,” they said.

The shortage of nurses in Cyprus has been a running theme for months, with the employers’ and industrialists’ federation (Oev) having warned in May last year that some clinics could be forced tosuspend 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.

Meanwhile, the Paphos general hospital’s new haemodialysis unit has been suffering from a “major shortage” of nursing staff since it opened last month.

Unit director Lakis Yioukkas had said last month that 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.

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

They added that financial constraints on Cyprus’ healthcare system are “preventing investment in the strengthening and development of nursing science”.

For this reason, they said, they are trying to change people’s views on nursing and highlight how investment in the profession can contribute positively to both the economy and society in general.

“We are seeking to give nursing the recognition it deserves, as it is an essential part of the healthcare sector,” they said.