At the end of 2025, a special electronic platform for recording hospital infections is expected to operate for the first time in Cyprus, the Director of Medical Services of the Ministry of Health, Elisavet Constantinou, told the Cyprus News Agency.
He noted that at the moment there is no continuous surveillance of nosocomial infections at a central level, but an indicative record of data is made, in relation to antimicrobial resistance in hospitals, which is registered on special platforms at the World Health Organization.
On the occasion of the European data, such as those recorded in the latest report of the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC), which place Cyprus in the first positions in relation to nosocomial infections, as well as antimicrobial resistance, Mrs. Constantinou told KYPE that in Cyprus some data are kept, which are related to antimicrobial resistance by hospitals and which are registered on special platforms in the World Health Organization.
However, he noted that although some recording is done, it is not thorough, since, as he explained, it is not mandatory for all hospitals to participate and provide data on their infections.
The way hospital infections are managed is changing
According to Elisavet Constantinou, planning has been done so that in 2025 "the way hospital infections are managed will change" and it will become mandatory to record them, for all hospitals, on a special electronic platform.
Ms. Constantinou said that in the Ministry of Health's effort to better monitor nosocomial infections and antimicrobial resistance, actions have been planned, which are taking place following ECDC recommendations, which have been made in writing to Cyprus since last year's visit by its representatives.
Asked what the recommendations of the ECDC representatives are in relation to the matter, the Director of Medical Services said that many actions are underway, to note that a training program has already started, in collaboration with the training sector of the nursing services, so that they are trained nurses from the private and public sectors and to become certified in relation to the management of hospital-acquired infections.
As he mentioned, the program has already started since May 8 and will be completed in the Fall, while as he added, there will be a second cycle of training, due to the demand and interest that exist.
Besides, Mrs. Constantinou said that since last year they have already started the renewal of all the guidelines for the prevention of nosocomial infections, and the first eight are already being completed within the next weeks.
He stated that all hospitals will then be invited to apply them and have their Committees supervise them, while he added that all the hospitals - private and public - have already been invited and have declared their Infection Committees.
There is a worsening of indicators
In relation to the ECDC study, which places Cyprus in the first positions in relation to nosocomial infections, Mrs. Constantinou said that this particular study is done every three years, with the participation of Cyprus, explaining that the latest report demonstrates a "deterioration" in relation to the previous one.
He noted, however, that all countries are recording a burden on the indicators, due to the pandemic.
When asked how many recorded infections there are in hospitals and which is the most common, Mrs. Constantinou stated that "there are no recorded infections circulating in hospitals", to note, however, that "germs are recorded through blood cultures".
There is no organized system of continuous surveillance
The representative of the Epidemiological Surveillance and Control of Infectious Diseases Unit, Clinical Microbiologist, Markella Markou, told KYPE that there is no organized system for continuous surveillance of nosocomial infections in Cyprus.
He explained that for this reason the proposal was made by the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit of the Ministry of Health to create an electronic platform, noting that the specific proposal is part of the Plan of the Recovery and Resilience Fund.
Answering a question about how this platform will work, Dr. Markou said that the purpose of the platform is for the competent Ministry to collect data from hospitals - public and private - on hospital infections.
"The milestone of the implementation of the platform", pointed out Mrs. Markou, "is the end of 2025".
In addition, he told KYPE that "continuous surveillance is a big investment and a very time-consuming process", to add that "it is impossible to continuously monitor all nosocomial infections".
"The platform will help hospitals to do their surveillance online so that this data can be monitored by the Ministry of Health. Whatever guidelines a Ministry issues, implementation and responsibility is local. There must be surveillance and the Ministry's intention is to have central data for continuous surveillance," he noted.