Health minister seeks counsel from former nurses to address shortages

Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides said on Monday he wishes to discuss with former nurses why they abandoned the profession.

Speaking on CyBC, Charalambides said he could not give an exact number of non-practising nurses as he had been provided differing figures.

He said he wanted to “hear from them directly and record their experiences and concerns”.

Charalambides conceded that “poor experiences at work and low pay” may well be among the reasons for their departure.

His remarks followed a House health committee session last week, where a representative of the nursing council said some 1,450 trained nurses are not presently practising.

The committee was also informed that 988 nurses under 40 are not renewing their licences.

Charalambides said the shortage was “particularly significant”, and the general health system (Gesy) was under “heavy pressure”.

The ministry’s immediate steps include bills before parliament that would allow the controlled hiring of nurses from outside the EU.

Ministry spokeswoman Carolina Stylianou told MPs on Thursday the plan would allow hospitals to employ about 150 such nurses and was a “temporary solution” until efforts to draw young Cypriots into nursing take hold.

Under the proposals, nurses from third countries would need the required qualifications and, as a rule, two years of experience.

They could make up no more than 10 per cent of a hospital’s nursing staff and would not be permitted to work as shift managers.

Licences would last two years, and Greek language requirements would be tougher than those applied to nurses from EU states.

Unions rejected the plan at the committee, with the Nurses’ union (Pasyno) refuting that such an act would “address the root of the problem”, arguing instead that wages and working conditions must be tackled.

Pasyno further demanded that Greek language proficiency for such nurses be held at a minimum level of C1, that being a strongest command of Greek behind C2 fluency.

For the immediate future, Charalambides said the ministry was running a campaign to attract young people to nursing schools and offering scholarships to students.

He said universities had relayed to him that interest in nursing studies was rising, with new enrolments at Cypriot universities rising from 98 in 2024 to 238 this year.

The committee will resume the debate next Thursday, when it hears from employers and the private hospitals association (Pasin).