The issue of support for people suffering from type 1 and 2 diabetes was discussed on Thursday by the Parliamentary Health Committee.
Committee Chairman Efthimios Diplaros said after the end of the session that serious issues concerning children have been recorded and there is a need to modernise legislation, but also to support families and children.
"Today, the number of people with diabetes in Cyprus is about 85.000, but there is another number that may reach 130,000," Diplaros said, while regarding children patients in particular, he said that the Ministry of Education is considering supporting them and their families with a specific allowance, as well as the possibility of providing an escort.
Asked about the shortages of medicines, Mr Diplaros said that there have been cases of requests for the same medicine from three different organisations (OAI, Ministry of Health, OCYPY), which will be resolved if OAI speeds up the procedures and includes the vast majority of medicines in its formulary.
AKEL MP Marina Nicolaou said that approaches have already been made to the Health Ministry for the purchase of new technologies for child patients, while she noted that the necessary support for students does not exist in Cyprus, calling on the Health Ministry and the Education Ministry to address the issue.
EDEK MP Andreas Apostolou referred to the party's request to the Ministry of Health for information on which targets of the National Strategy for Diabetes have been achieved, while noting the need to have distinct targets on how we support our fellow human beings suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
"For many, many months now we have started meetings with stakeholders and we have found that currently within the GHS there are many gaps and our fellow human beings either do not have access to state-of-the-art medicines or do not have access to devices that improve their quality of life," he said. Apostolou, adding that "we are not here neither to nullify what has been done and what we have achieved in recent years, nor to embellish things that need improvement", while stressing that the gaps that emerged during the pandemic should be evaluated in order to be resolved.
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvidis referred to the fact that there are currently no national statistical data on the percentage of people suffering from diabetes. We have heard that innovative drugs are not being offered to patients and we raised the question of when the OAI will include these innovative drugs," he said.
Regarding children suffering from diabetes in particular, Savvidis added that there is a gap in information in schools about the condition and how it can be treated.
Savides also said that information was requested from the OAI on the level of cases during the coronavirus season, and referred to complaints from patients about unavailability of modern pumps through the OAI, which cost 400-500 euros per family.
DPA MP Michalis Yakoomi called on the state to improve the services provided to people with diabetes, especially children, and to provide guidance from the day of diagnosis and thereafter to the iaptical help.
In particular, he called for the establishment of a specific diabetologist specialty, and mentioned the method of continuous glucose recording for people with type 1 diabetes that does not require tweaking, as well as the inclusion of contactless devices in the health plan.
"After three years of operation of the GHS, and after the gaps have been revealed, they must be corrected immediately," Yakoumi said, suggesting that prescribing should be based on the ingredients and not on the brand name of the drugs.
On the part of the invited stakeholders, the president of the Cyprus Association of People with Diabetes, Dina Konstantinidou, said that since 2010 there has been no new recording of the percentage of the population suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes, with the latest figure for that year reaching 10%.
Citing data from the Nicosia General Hospital's vascular surgery clinics and plastic surgery clinic, she said that amputation cases had increased over the past five years, despite advances in the services offered to prevent them.
The President of the Association of Parents and Friends of Children with Type 1 Diabetes Drosoula Hadjisavva stressed the importance of accessibility to medical devices, such as different types of pumps and contactless sensors, adding that every patient should have the right to choose and be covered through the GHS.
Ms. Hajisavva also called for a review of the National Diabetes Strategy, which has been outlined since 2016, adding that there should be a support plan from the moment of diagnosis and throughout the management of the condition by qualified doctors and scientists.
Finally, on behalf of the Pancyprian Diabetic Association, Mr. Andreas Theodorouy made statements, stating that diabetes affects 10% of the population of Cyprus, which if not treated properly and preventively, the cost of its treatment will increase geometrically.
Source: CNA
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