Six beds will be opened immediately in the Intensive Care Unit at the Larnaca General Hospital and in case of need another six will be developed, said today the Minister of Health Michalis Hadjipandela.
The Minister spoke after a meeting held at the Larnaca General Hospital which was attended by the General Director of the Ministry Christina Giannaki, the Scientific Director of the General Hospitals of Larnaca - Famagusta Amalia Hatzigianni of Lefkas Lefantis George Orthodoxou, Director of the Department of Anesthesiologists of the General Hospital of Famagusta - member of the Board of Physicians PASYDY and Adamos Hatzipanagis Medical Director of the General Hospital of Larnaca.
In his statements, Mr. Hadjipandela said that "in the first phase, six beds of the Intensive Care Unit will be developed at the Larnaca General Hospital, which is so much needed by the system and then we will be able to develop another six, if necessary, under certain conditions. ».
The Minister sent the message that "there are problems, the cases that currently exist in our country, exist around the world, but if there is cooperation as there was today between all agencies, I believe that any problems we have we will solve for good for the patients and for nothing else ".
Asked whether there are the necessary doctors to staff the ICU of Larnaca General Hospital, he replied that "there are doctors. In the meeting, a report was made that we agreed on everything and it is mentioned which doctors will work in the specific ICU, who will be on duty and what must be done for the specific unit to function properly ".
Asked to indicate whether there are the necessary respirators to be used in the ICU of the General Hospital of Larnaca, the Minister said that "there are, while additional ones will come next week from Germany. Additional respirators were requested for the Larnaca ICU and Mr. Papalazis will arrange for them to come ".
In a relevant question, Mr. Hadjipandela said that "Phase A will be immediate while we will see later for Phase B. We agreed that this solution will be only for two months "he said and noted that" our goal is not to make a Unit that we will leave later, but the Larnaca province to have the Intensive Care Unit that it deserves. "Since we are given this opportunity to strengthen it to be a properly equipped Intensive Care Unit".
Asked about the possibility of extending the reopening of schools, the Minister of Health replied that he would see the experts on this issue tomorrow and listen to their suggestions.
Asked to comment on Paphos Mayor Faidonas Faidonos' criticism of the sampling points, Hadjipandela said that "doctors, nurses and medical staff are people who are sick, they are contacts, they are cases and they have families and children."
He even gave an example of a sampling center in Nicosia on Sunday, January 2, where, as he said, "we had a reduction in staff because at the last minute some people were cases or contacts. "Logically, there should have been a delay, as happened in some other centers," he said, noting that "we live in unprecedented conditions and we have to credit our staff, doctors and nurses and not shoot them at the first opportunity."
These people, he continued, "are making superhuman efforts and we must all show understanding. "Besides, the specific problems we have in Cyprus are much worse in other countries and we should be proud of the doctors and nurses we have and not shoot them at the first opportunity."
Asked to indicate whether new measures will be taken in Cyprus, the Minister of Health said that he will listen to the experts and will inform tomorrow.
Asked what are the indications that exist regarding the possibility of an increase in patients with Covid-19 in the Hospitals, he replied that today he spoke with the heads of the General Hospitals of Nicosia, Famagusta and Larnaca and "it does not seem that there is a big increase but it is something we will see in the afternoon".
Asked to indicate the percentage of patients who are hospitalized with the Omicron mutation and whether there are doctors and nurses who are infected with this variant, he said that "it makes sense that some nurses are infected with the Omicron mutation. "So far, the information we have is that none of the patients are sick with this mutation, but we will do tests on almost all the patients in the public hospitals, to see if they are sick with Omicron or not."
The Minister thanked "Lakis Papalazis, the invisible hero, who will take over the responsibility of operating the ICU at the General Hospital of Larnaca. Thanks to the Guilds for the excellent cooperation we have, to Sotiris Koumas, President of OKYPI and George Orthodoxos but also to the anesthesiologists who showed understanding and are ready to help us in this difficult endeavor ".
Besides, the President of the Union of Government Doctors (PASYKI) Sotiris Koumas said that the Minister of Health himself convened the "today's meeting. We have to admit that it was a meeting of necessity, the Minister and the General Director of the Ministry were forced to give solutions to an issue, which unfortunately we have to say, has existed for some months and despite the promises from OKYPY the required solutions were not given " .
He added, however, that "in today's meeting it was proved that we are not just Trade Unions, we are doctors above all. With a proper consultation and consultation, so that the colleagues immediately. both intensivists and anesthesiologists to lay the foundations for the immediate development of six beds with the prospect of growth 12, which will remain in the post-Covid era, something particularly important for the development of the health system in our country, in terms of quality and security ".
Answering a relevant question, Mr. Koumas said that "the equipment and staff to staff the ICU exist and anesthesiologists who are experiencing the current situation have been asked for the necessary equipment to come immediately. "Unfortunately, doctors and nurses are circulating, they come in contact with cases and there is a risk, but in medicine, composure is something special."
He noted that "we need to be calm, analyze the data to adapt and provide solutions. We hope that this solution will give the necessary breath to the current phase and then it will develop properly ".
Asked to indicate whether things do not seem to be going well with the increase in coronavirus cases, Sotiris Koumas replied that "we can not say it completely like that. There is Covid and there is also non-Covid, let's not forget that there is a special impact on non-Covid incidents ".
Unfortunately, he continued, "for the past two years, chronic patients have not been getting tired properly, there is daily acid and we have to take all this into account. For example, post Covid patients do not transmit but remain intubated and this increases the needs.
Mr. Koumas noted that "we should organize it in such a way that, based on our capabilities and particularities, which can be positive, we can adapt the system in general, not only the public hospitals, to better serve our fellow citizens. our patients ".