A meeting is to take place on Monday at the Health Ministry to discuss how to resolve the problem of long waiting lists, Minister Popi Kanari said on Saturday noting that immediate solutions were needed.
Responding to journalists’ questions on the long patient waiting lists in hospitals, the Minister said that this was an ongoing problem and that she was determined to find solutions, with everyone’s cooperation.
She said that a meeting is to be held at the Ministry on Monday at 12 noon with the participation of the Heath Insurance Organisation (HIO) that is running the national health system (GeSY), the State Health Services Organisation that is running public hospitals, the patients’ federation, the Medical Association, and GPs and expressed the belief that, with everyone’s contribution, solutions would be found.
The Minister said that she has some proposals which will be discussed, but that she also expected solutions from all health system stakeholders, ‘because we recognise that this problem exists, we see it every day.’
She noted that immediate solutions were needed so that people are not left waiting for months as regards some specialties, ‘certainly not in all of them.’
The Minister also said that procedures have been initiated with regard to transferring the process on innovative drugs under HIO, noting that the organisation said it would double its budget for this issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency