Regardless of progress in healthcare because the introduction of Gesy in 2019, a lot of gaps stay, notably by way of preventative drugs and long-term care, a brand new report exhibits.
The 170-page report from the European Observatory of Well being Programs and Insurance policies titled ‘Well being Programs in Transition’ highlights the good points made below Gesy but additionally factors to a lot of obvious weaknesses.
With a rapidly-ageing inhabitants, it mentioned, Cyprus lacks a complete and built-in long-term care (LTC) technique.
By 2050, over 24 per cent of the inhabitants shall be aged 65 or older, signalling an pressing want for LTC providers.
Nonetheless, public expenditure on LTC stays among the many lowest within the EU.
“The dearth of an built-in institutional framework, fragmentation in provision, and insufficient LTC amenities compel many households to hunt personal providers,” the report mentioned.
That is compounded by low wages and poor working circumstances, making it an unattractive sector to hunt employment.
Whereas Gesy has laid a powerful basis for healthcare reform, it mentioned, its long-term success hinges on monetary sustainability and addressing such gaps.
Present providers concentrate on folks with excessive ranges of dependency, akin to these with persistent diseases or disabilities, however protection stays inadequate.
“Cyprus should undertake a complete strategy to long-term care and enhance workforce circumstances to fulfill future challenges,” it added.
Related gaps exist relating to palliative care. “Whereas the 46 inpatient beds for palliative care are enough, extra skilled groups for residence care are wanted,” the report mentioned. It famous {that a} lack of institutional frameworks defining care supply and {qualifications} additionally additional hampers progress.
Responding in a while Wednesday, Well being Minister Michalis Damianos mentioned throughout his Christmas go to to the Makarios kids’s hospital, {that a} invoice addressing palliative care was being finalised.
It could be despatched to the authorized service within the subsequent few days, he mentioned. “We’re continuing with this,” he added.
He didn’t remark additional on the report, in accordance with which, elsewhere within the system, regardless of quite a few successes, systemic weaknesses persevered.
It mentioned public hospitals battle to compete with personal amenities, elevating questions on their monetary sustainability and autonomy.
Workforce imbalances had been additionally evident, with shortages of GPs and nursing professionals exacerbating the pressure on public hospitals. Most medical doctors, it mentioned, work within the personal sector and most nurses within the public sector, creating a significant imbalance within the system.
The report additionally criticises the absence of high quality and efficiency indicators in supplier compensation and highlights inefficiencies in specialist referrals, usually pushed by affected person strain.
“Prescriptions and referrals are typically issued with out an in-person session, a observe that escalated throughout the pandemic,” it mentioned.
Moreover, restricted entry to modern medicines, persistent psychiatric care, and community-based providers akin to physiotherapy and speech remedy “stay areas of concern”.
Preventive care, comprising simply 2 per cent of well being expenditure, additionally requires consideration, with excessive smoking charges and childhood weight problems flagged as urgent public well being points.
Achievements, in accordance with the report, embody considerably enhancing beneficiary protection, higher affected person selection and simpler entry to providers.
Over three-quarters of the Cypriot inhabitants report good well being—greater than the EU common of 68 per cent. Life expectancy stands at 81.7 years, surpassing the EU common by one yr.
The system additionally excels in stopping avoidable deaths, the report mentioned. “Cyprus has the bottom mortality fee from preventable and treatable causes within the EU,” it added.
Fundamental challenges that stay are the reorganisation and reform of public hospitals with a view to compete with personal ones, the introduction and use of e-health, the implementation of college clinics in public hospitals and the combination of high quality and efficiency indicators into the compensation mechanisms of Gesy suppliers.
The report additionally included quite a few datasets akin to well being expenditure per capita coming in at US$ 4,206 and as a share of gross home product (GDP) 9.4 per cent in 2021- each beneath European averages.
As well as, the variety of practising medical doctors in Cyprus has almost doubled since 2000, reaching 467 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020, above the EU common whereas the variety of nurses has not elevated on the identical fee, standing at 498 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, nicely beneath the EU common.
