Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charilaou on Thursday called on the public to be patient as waiting times at state hospital A&E departments began to skyrocket.
This is due to an outbreak of seasonal viral infections in the current period, he told the Cyprus Mail.
A report by Politis described the situation at A&E departments as a massive inconvenience for patients, with many having to wait for several hours, even days, to be triaged.
One patient who arrived at the Nicosia general hospital A&E at 3pm on Tuesday afternoon was not admitted until 11pm, after which he was asked to go home and return on Thursday as there were no available beds.
The report described other incidents where patients had to wait up to six hours to be seen, while others complained that they waited two hours at a private hospital A&E only to be sent to a state hospital.
A nurse said A&E departments “have turned into doctors’ surgeries” as more and more people wait to be admitted, which is very difficult given there are not enough beds. It was also reported that ambulance crews were being delayed due to a shortage of stretchers.
“State hospital A&Es are massively congested at the moment as more people are getting sick,” Charilaou said, adding that beds are constantly occupied. Last weekend, there were 420 patients just at Nicosia general hospital A&E.
He also explained that the reason so many people are redirected to state hospitals even if they go to a private hospital A&E, is that the latter are either not adequately staffed or equipped to deal every kind of case.
“A&E departments at private hospitals do not examine pathological or pulmonary issues, nor do they accept patients with chronic illnesses, paediatric cases, or the elderly,” he said.
He repeated his plea for patience, saying that state hospitals are experiencing a crisis.
“We are taking measures to decongest the system but as cases have doubled these days, the only thing we can do is hold tight,” he said.
“Okypy is essentially one hospital, and state hospitals are communicating vessels,” he added.
“If the need arises, we will not hesitate to attempt moving patients across hospitals in order to accommodate more people”.