Adequate staffing levels are a necessity for there to be an improved quality of care at the Famagusta general hospital in Paralimni, Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides said on Tuesday.

“Within the framework of a sustainable health system, there must obviously be adequacy in the provision of quality health services, and for this to occur, there must be adequate staffing,” he said during a visit to the hospital.

To this end, and with the aim of upgrading the quality of healthcare provision across the island, he is to visit every hospital in Cyprus in the coming weeks.

“The aim of these visits is for me personally to ascertain the situation prevailing at all hospitals, and first of all in public hospitals, in terms of infrastructure, medical equipment, and of course, the adequacy of the staff – doctors, nurses, and other personnel,” he said.

He added that the government’s goal is “the continuous upgrading of public hospitals in Cyprus at all levels”.

“I am here today expressing our support and gratitude to the health workers, doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff who, with dedication, offer the public the precious gift of health every day. I am here to listen to them and to hear issues which may be troubling them; issues over which we should take decisions to resolve immediately,” he said.

The Famagusta general hospital is one of many on the island where staff frequently complain of understaffing, with nurses’ trade union Pasyno having previously described staff shortages as the “gangrene of the health system”.

“The nursing staff strives to offer the best care to all patients, despite experiencing the consequences of chronic understaffing, having as a principle the oath they took that they will not leave any patient helpless and alone,” the union said at the time.

Prior to that, the union had complained that nurses “live every day in miserable working conditions, in understaffed hospitals, with serious shortages”.

Akel, meanwhile, has previously shared these concerns, saying that “chronic understaffing, precarious working conditions and inadequate remuneration outside collective agreements have led to burnout, high rates of resignation and migration of nurses”.

As far back as 2024, state doctors’ trade union Pasyki warned that some hospital departments could be forced to close “due to severe understaffing”, while pharmacists at the Limassol general hospital once went on strike, also complaining of understaffing.

At the time, trade union Pasydy’s nursing branch said that nurses are “often treated with contempt” by those in power in relation to staffing levels, while the Pancyprian nurses’ and midwives’ association (Pasynm) called on Cyprus’ political leadership as well as nurses’ employees to protect the nursing and midwifery professions and invest in them.

They added that this should be done to “create and improve support mechanisms concerning these people’s welfare, ensuring health and safety at work, and respecting their rights.”

Additionally, they said strategies should be developed to attract, recruit, and retain nurses and midwives to address “the significant shortages currently being seen in our country”.