AKEL welcomes another step towards the establishment of a modern and health system centred on people’s needs

Statement of the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL A.Kyprianou on the start of the second phase of the NHS

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 1 June 2020, Nicosia

The start of the second phase of the National Health Scheme (NHS) with the implementation of in-hospital care represents another step towards the establishment of a modern and health system in our country centred on people’s needs.

The implementation of the NHS with its universal and single-insurance character based on social solidarity is a victory and a gain for the Cypriot people. A major social reform is step by step becoming a reality because Cypriot society did not back down in the face of private interests and the government’s ideological concepts that had other different plans. AKEL feels vindicated because together with other political and social forces it led the way and has been at the forefront of this reform with its specific character and philosophy, which meets the needs and expectations of our people and especially working people, pensioners and the vulnerable groups of the population.

We all know that the NHS will still have to face challenges and problems. On its part, AKEL assures the Cypriot people that it will contribute actively and creatively towards providing solutions and overcoming obstacles.

The main responsibility however lies with the government and state health services (OKYPY), who must at long last fulfill the urgent need to upgrade the public health system and reconstruct public hospitals. This is what will determine the future of the NHS. The safeguarding of its single-insurance character, the strengthening of infrastructures and equipment, the training of personnel, the organization, the structures and the labour issues – these are all issues that the government and OKYPY should have already solved.