Disagreements Emerge Over University Clinics in Cyprus

Strong disagreements have arisen regarding the bill on university clinics in Cyprus, ten years after the first attempt to legislate them. Government doctors have expressed their opposition to the admission by the Minister of Health, Michalis Damianou, and the Executive Director of OKYpY, Kypros Stavridis, that there are already academics as directors in two clinics, which is not permitted by the current legislative framework.

PASYKI and PASYDY are demanding the immediate cancellation of this practice and do not rule out taking measures. The issue is expected to be discussed again in the Parliamentary Health Committee, with the aim of passing the bill before the end of the year, although the disagreements make this difficult.

The disagreements focus on the management of university clinics, with the bill proposing a model for the distribution of responsibilities between hospitals and universities. A basic principle is that the University Clinic will operate within the hospital, without being an independent administrative structure.

The bill stipulates that administrative and clinical control belongs to the hospital, while university doctors are subject to the hospital's operating rules. The Head of the University Clinic will be a university doctor, responsible for educational work and research. In matters affecting clinical work, the consent of the Director of the hospital clinic is required.

The establishment of Joint Implementation and Monitoring Committees is also foreseen, with representatives from the hospital, the medical school and the Ministry of Health, to oversee the implementation of agreements and address problems.

The bill sets a framework for the establishment, operation and certification of university clinics and hospitals in Cyprus, with the aim of upgrading medical education and improving health care.