PASYKI will go on a 24-hour strike - What does OKYpY say

The 24-hour strike announced by the Pancypriot Union of Government Doctors (PASYKI) for Thursday is unnecessary since the issue for which the strike is being held for the insurance coverage of doctors does not exist, the Press Representative of the State Health Services Organization told KYPE ( OKYPY) Charalambos Charilaou.

For his part, the President of PASYKI, Sotiris Koumas, in his statements to KYPE, stated that there is an issue and that all arrangements are being made for Thursday's strike, adding that to their great surprise, so far no one from the authorities has approached them for a solution of the difference in order to lift the strike which will create many problems in the operation of the hospitals.

The 24-hour strike of PASYKI will take place from 7:30 am. on Thursday, until 7:30 a.m. of Friday.

Regarding the whole issue, Mr. Charilaou said, an extension of the coverage of the guarantee against professional negligence of all OKYpY personnel, for seconded, transferred and doctors with OKYpY contract from the Republic of Cyprus until the end of this year was secured.

Likewise, he continued, the extension of the handling of the cases concerning the professional negligence of civil servants who have been seconded to OKYPY by the Legal Service.

At the same time, he pointed out, the Organization is taking all the necessary actions for coverage by an insurance company and all the doctors who work near it.

Mr Harilaou said that the doctors' guilds have been informed in time by written letter. In particular, PASYKI on 21/4/2022 while PASYDY, which is not on strike, with its announcement on 27/4/2023 expressed its satisfaction with the extension of the doctors' professional insurance.

"We consider that the strike mobilizations are unnecessary and do not benefit the patients", noted Mr. Harilaou.

When asked if there will be any approaches to PASYKI to lift its strike measures, he stated that "to avoid any misunderstandings or misinterpretations, the Organization took care and sent a written letter to the unions informing them that there is no issue with the insurance coverage of the doctors of any category in case of professional negligence and that an extension of the guarantee coverage beyond professional negligence of all staff has been secured by the Republic of Cyprus until the end of the year".

Asked if there will be disruption in public hospitals, Mr. Harilaou said that "only PASYKI is on strike, PASYDY is not, so a number of doctors are on strike. In departments and clinics, where PASYKI doctors work, there will be the required number of doctors to meet the needs of emergencies. No patient will be left without the proper help."

Asked if patients will be notified regarding the cancellation of their appointments, he said that this is the responsibility of each hospital to take all the necessary actions.

When asked if there will be any developments on the matter today, Mr. Charilaou repeated that "a written letter has been sent to the guilds, informing them that no issue is raised. From then on, it's up to the unions what they will do," he added.

For his part, PASYKI President Sotiris Koumas, when asked to comment on OKYpY's position, said that "we did not expect a different approach from OKypY, it is his constant answer for everything, that there is no issue. The daily facts about public hospitals do not support such a thing."

On this particular, he continued, there is an issue for us. "But since they insist that there is no problem, one says there is no problem, the other says there is a problem, usually you call the other to solve the problem."

When asked if they are determined to go on strike, he said that "of course, all the arrangements are being made and we are surprised and particularly surprised that we have not yet received any hint, no one has approached us to resolve the issue. We have declared a 24-hour strike, TAEP will not serve everyone, only emergencies. There will be problems."

Our request is simple, said Mr. Koumas, adding that "the Law says that every government employee and especially government doctor and public doctor, as the Constitution and the Legislation say, for negligence during the practice of their work is covered by the state since is an employer".

"This regime was valid before the creation of OKYpY. Two days before the start of the NHS in our claims in response to this, we received a letter from the previous Minister of Health stating that the state remains the employer for both permanent and permanent colleagues. Subsequently, a third category of doctors was created, the doctors who have a contract with OKYpY. The NHS Law determines through legislation and regulations that every provider should submit an insurance document", he explained.

Something, he continued, which OKYpY has not done for four years. "The permanent and indefinite ones are covered through a guarantee given by the Ministry of Health. An issue has arisen for about a year now. The Legal Service has been positioned and has determined that it will only cover permanent residents up to a certain time frame. This means that a right that we bring with us with our secondment to OKYPY is taken away from us", he added.

At the same time, he clarified, temporary and indefinite-term doctors do not know under which regime they are covered anymore, while doctors who have a contract with OKYPY do not have any insurance coverage either. "We simply have a letter from OKYpY which conveys to us that there continues to be coverage until the end of the year", he concluded.

Source: KYPE