A resident of Cyprus shared the story that occurred with his family:
My elderly father was hospitalized in a private clinic included in the HESS system (National Cyprus Health System). The attending physician told us that he could not return home and he needs rehabilitation. We took all possible steps to take him in one of the three recovery centers that collaborate with Heses. The center agreed, however, OA (organization of medical insurance) rejected our application. They explained to us that such cases have not yet been covered with Ges because of the lack of relevant legislation, which means that access to the services remains limited.
On the same day, the director of the clinic, where my father was located, called me and demanded to take it for several hours, as another patient needs a bed.
“If he does not leave, I will start making accounts for you. We were told in OA, that we need to take payment if patients are delayed, ”the threat sounded.
For my request to give at least a day or two to find housing or a nursing home (after all, we learned that the Ministry of Health cooperates with some institutions for chronic patients), the director only repeated: “I will start paying payment”. We did not have a financial opportunity to pay, so in a hurry we transported his father home, where he was left without proper care.
Later it turned out that in order to get a subsidy of € 1,300 from the Ministry of Health, the application must be submitted at the moment when the patient is still in the hospital. But the clinic kicked us out without providing any information. They were only interested in a free bed, and not helping the family.
Today, the father needs daily medical and nursing care. Heses provides only 12 visits of a doctor per year and a limited amount of physiotherapy, which is clearly not enough. Private nursing houses requested € 2.500–2.700 per month. Even if we received state support, along with my father’s pension, these funds would still not be enough.
Not only we faced a similar problem. According to the Federation of Associations of Cyprus Patients and the Observatory for the elderly, complaints come dozens every month. In August alone, five official appeals from the elderly and chronically ill people, as well as families caring for people with disabilities who cannot provide them with constant care, were registered.
In one case, the elderly couple turned for help, because they "are completely alone without support." In another, the woman said that her mother with dementia needs constant professional guardianship, which the family cannot provide. In the third, a relative of the patient with a severe chronic disease turned to the authorities with a request for the complete state support of long -term hospitalization, since the expenses of the family with a small pension are wrong. In the fourth case, it was a person with disabilities, who needed rehabilitation in a specialized center, not covered by Hesa. In the fifth case, the family asked to extend the patient's stay in the center of Hesa to have time to equip the house (ramps, special bathroom), but the resolution was delayed.
The problem is larger than it seems. People of advanced age, chronic patients and people with disabilities cannot wait for decisions. Today they are left without care, support and human dignity.
Source: Philenews.com
