The variety of complaints made by sufferers to sufferers’ associations Osak’s observatory in January was 17 per cent greater in January this 12 months than it was within the first month of final 12 months, Osak’s authorized officer Michaela Markou mentioned on Monday.
Chatting with the Cyprus Information Company, she mentioned a complete of 61 complaints have been submitted to the Osak observatory within the first month of this 12 months, with most of these being associated to the remedy of sufferers over the age of 70 years previous.
Moreover, she mentioned, sufferers have filed complaints about ready instances at accident and emergency departments, issues relating to the hospitalisation of aged sufferers, and “inconvenience” at hospital pharmacies.
This “inconvenience”, she mentioned, usually pertains to medicines not being out there, whereas points have additionally arisen as a result of lengthy distances some aged sufferers are required to journey each month to entry medicines they require.
One other frequent criticism, she mentioned, was that some sufferers’ relations have been being refused entry to fulfill their family members as a result of danger of an infection, whereas some aged sufferers reported affected by bedsores and contracting different sicknesses whereas in hospital.
She added that some sufferers had complained that instruction sheets for specialised medication weren’t printed in Greek or English, and that they’d “no correct communication” with their medical doctors, doubtlessly resulting in delays within the service supplied and, in some circumstances, incorrect diagnoses.
She went on to say that in Osak’s makes an attempt to resolve these complaints, they’ve “not acquired passable responses to this point” from the authorities.
Efforts have been made in some quarters to enhance sufferers’ expertise in Cyprus in current months, with Gesy having unveiled its “affected person’s information” in November.
The information is an internet portal which gives solutions to continuously requested questions associated to the companies it gives and was described by Well being Minister Michael Damianos at its unveiling as “a dynamic, easy-to-use, and informative web site, which gives legitimate and up-to-date info”.
“The web site gives clear and comprehensible steerage on Gesy companies, whereas additionally offering specialised info to handle the wants of sufferers with persistent sicknesses,” he added.
He described the portal as an “extraordinarily useful gizmo” and mentioned it “goals to foster a tradition of accountable and rational use of well being companies, thus guaranteeing that folks can get pleasure from high quality well being companies whereas defending the sustainability of the system.”
In the meantime, plans are afoot to create the position of a “affected person advocate”, with Damianos saying final 12 months that there was a “fixed demand” for such a job to be created, on the a part of sufferers, involved residents, and political events.
He mentioned his ministry is now “taking a decisive step in the direction of safeguarding sufferers’ rights, each inside and out of doors Gesy”, and that the provisions set out within the invoice “are essential to the empowerment of sufferers’ rights and the development of the standard of well being companies on this nation.”
Talking of the affected person advocate’s position, he mentioned the eventual appointee will “have the authority to look at complaints and studies regarding sufferers’ rights”, whereas additionally “offering info and updates, and organising instructional programmes and campaigns to boost consciousness about sufferers’ rights.”
