By Constantinos Ioannou
Former Minister of Health
In a few days, three years will pass since the implementation of the General Health System in Cyprus, the biggest reform ever undertaken in the Republic of Cyprus.
Everyone remembers the anxiety, the doubt, and in some cases the suspicion with which many people viewed the GHS. The support of the public and the enthusiasm with which citizens embraced the system were a catalyst for its evolution. The response we saw from citizens made us even more determined to bring the project to fruition for the sake of thousands of people who were truly suffocating for access to medical services and medicines without the anxiety of unsustainable financial costs.
The implementation of the GESY on 1 June 2019 coincided with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and its enormous contribution to the effective management of the health crisis is acknowledged. A year later, in the midst of the pandemic, we also proceeded with the implementation of the second phase of the GHS with the inclusion of inpatient services from 1 June 2020.
We can say that the GHS was baptised under particularly difficult circumstances and has shown that it has the strengths that allow us to be optimistic about its future course.
Three years on, it is clear that GESY has dispelled the clouds of doubt that shadowed it in its first steps, when contracted doctors, pharmacies, diagnostic centres and private hospitals were few.
Now GESY is the property of society and part of the everyday life of every citizen, to whom it offers equal and equal access to quality health services and inclusive medicines. This was and remains the basic philosophy of the System, the reason why it was made and why it exists. Citizens are entitled to choose a doctor and a hospital, without the segregation of the past, and can obtain their medicines from the neighbourhood pharmacy, simply and without hassle.
Day by day, the GHS is being improved, upgraded and advanced to meet the new needs that are constantly being created. Three years is too short a time to evaluate a project of this magnitude. Let us not forget that in many other countries, with tried and tested health systems, the process of development and upgrading is continuous and never-ending.
I do not want to embellish the situation. Weaknesses exist and deficiencies are identified and abuses continue to be committed. But at the same time, we should note that the GHS has the technical mechanisms and legislative tools to remove the distortions and mitigate the problems. But I am convinced that any attempt to make improvements to the GHS can be made through the system itself, without attempting any change at its core, which would change its philosophy. I know that the Health Insurance Agency is making many efforts, which should be intensified. This is a project of unprecedented magnitude, and one that runs up against established practices and perceptions of other eras. The modernisation and upgrading of the autonomous public hospitals is also a major challenge, which has coincided with the pandemic. We must not forget that the prioritisation of health crisis management diverted financial and human resources from the SHIU. I am confident that both the OAI and the OCYP, as well as the associations of private hospitals, laboratories, the medical world, the community of pharmacists, other partners, are working in the right direction with the sole aim of continuously upgrading the GHS for the benefit of citizens.
From day one, the GHS has had its opponents, who unfortunately continue to undermine it. I must once again testify my personal testimony that the course of events would have been very different had it not been for the strong political will of the President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades to implement the YESY. Once again, I would also like to praise the assistance of the majority of parliamentary parties and political forces, as well as the social partners. I owe a special mention to the Association of Organised Patients, which acted as an obstacle to any attempts to undermine this great social achievement. I thank and congratulate them all. GESY is a great project that we are leaving to our children, so we must support it.
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