A bill that could fundamentally transform medical education in Cyprus has reached a complete impasse. The Parliamentary Health Committee met yesterday to examine regulations on establishing university clinics in the country’s hospitals — and the result was a spectacular tangle of disagreements.
The head of the Pancyprian Association of Private Hospitals, Marios Karaiskakis, stated that despite its title, the bill effectively “creates prohibitive conditions” for private hospitals. He demanded the removal of restrictions on private clinics that meet the criteria for training resident doctors.
The response was immediate: OKYpY Executive Director Kypros Stavridis expressed concern that “if we open this up to private hospitals, clinics will sprout like kiosks on every corner.”
In the most dramatic moment of the session, PASIDY Medical Branch head Moysis Lambrou remarked sarcastically: “You can find the Coca-Cola recipe, but the OKYpY cooperation memorandum with the University of Cyprus — that doesn’t exist anywhere.”
Public sector doctors declared categorical opposition to the bill, raising issues of legal liability and financial sustainability. “If a university doctor I didn’t choose joins my department, why should I bear legal responsibility?” asked PASYKI president Sotiris Koumas.
Health Minister Neofytos Charalambidis asked for continued study, pledging to return with answers. “We’ve been discussing the same things since 2013. Shelving the bill is not a solution,” he stressed. Committee chair Efthymios Diplaros acknowledged that the vote would likely pass to the new Parliament after the May elections.
