-
.
- Русский
It is a great pleasure to join you at one of the most important annual conferences on health policies and their strengthening. Today's event will focus on evaluating the performance of the General Health System, but at the same time, will identify the problems and set out the prospects for improving the health sector in our country.
The General Health System in Cyprus (GHS) was implemented in June 2019. The aim of the GHS is to ensure a human-centred and universal access to a comprehensive package of health care services, promoting social solidarity and eliminating social inequalities. Nicos Christodoulides and I personally will support and strengthen it.
In order to implement the GESY and ensure an integrated and quality package of health services, health care providers and suppliers of medical products have contributed substantially. In particular, the vast majority of health professionals have actively demonstrated their interest through their ever-increasing participation in the GHS, thus supporting its quantitative and geographical adequacy in terms of personal physicians, including on-call services, specialists, pharmacies, clinical laboratories, clinical laboratories, nursing homes, ambulance services, nursing services, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, clinical dietetics, clinical psychology, palliative care and rehabilitation.
The continuous enrichment of the range of health services provided since the start of the implementation of the GHS has received significant recognition from patients, as demonstrated by the computerized reports on the use of the system.
With the GHS, all beneficiaries have an electronic medical record, which is continuously updated with medical information compulsorily registered by health care providers, allowing direct access to their medical records, both their own and those of their minor children.
Undoubtedly, implementing the GHS and trying to achieve the goals set has been and still is a new challenge, especially in the last three years coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic. In this period, during the infancy of the GHS, the State was called upon to focus on the management of the pandemic under conditions that did not allow for the adoption of the indicated safeguards to ensure proper surveillance and monitoring with qualitative criteria. For the qualitative development of such an important health reform, there is an urgent need for continuous evaluation of existing procedures and practices. The Ministry of Health, as the competent supervisory authority, recognizes these challenges and is working intensively to manage them effectively, based on the best available practices in health policy making following recommendations from the World Health Organization and the European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, as well as other reputable organizations. The ultimate goal is to identify and address weaknesses, putting the patient and his/her legitimate rights universally at the centre of policy, while taking measures to ensure the sustainability of the GHS.
Let me refer to some of these challenges:
(a) The control and supervision of the use of the System by both providers and beneficiaries, in terms of avoiding abuses and ensuring and upgrading the quality of the services provided, is a necessity. Achieving this objective requires:
- the differentiation of reimbursement models for providers on the basis of quality criteria and performance indicators,
- the promotion of incentives and disincentives where there is a distortion of the supply-demand relationship,
- the establishment of clinical guidelines with the gradual development of treatment protocols. This effort is expected to be further enhanced with the contribution of the Ministry of Health through the development of a National Centre for Clinical Documentation, a project which is already being promoted,
- the use of software applications to enhance speed and accuracy in identifying abuses and/or unusual behaviours.
(b) Sufficiency of pharmaceutical and medical device products and access to innovative medicines is also a serious issue. In this regard, I would like to mention that the Ministry of Health is looking forward to the review and inclusion of new and innovative medicines in the list of medicines in the GHS as soon as possible, while ensuring sufficiency so that the whole process of granting medicines to beneficiaries is automated, without the existing bureaucratic process of submission, evaluation and decision making, which involves a number of Committees, Sub-Committees and Councils.
As the statutory body responsible for the implementation of monitoring and management of the system, the OAI, has to face many challenges while assessing its expected global budget and increasing anticipated General Government Contribution.
As far as the State Health Services Agency is concerned, the biggest challenge it has to face is that of financial and administrative autonomy. The establishment of the NHS Agency was based on the premise that the State can cover any deficits for five years, i.e. until 31.5.24. The OCYP through the Public Hospitals, which are the backbone of the GHS and with the substantial support of the Ministry of Health, were able to manage the pandemic successfully and we must acknowledge this success and congratulate them. Now is the time, however, when the SHIU should intensify its actions for its financial and administrative autonomy. The implementation of more effective organisational and control mechanisms is imperative. OCYPY has undertaken the implementation of development projects in public hospitals with funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan amounting to approximately 47.7 million
Of these projects some have been completed such as the creation of a Covid Unit at Famagusta General Hospital while others should be completed in stages until 2026. These projects will substantially upgrade our Public Hospitals such as the New Mental Health Hospital in Athalassa.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Health has to face its own challenges and develop its own health policy and focus on its strategic, regulatory and supervisory role.
Undoubtedly, the contribution of the Ministry of Health is imperative to achieve actions such as. [/B]This will be achieved by collecting data on the health status of the general population and the health services provided, highlighting the current balance between supply and demand, followed by listing and prioritising.
(c) Accreditation of hospitals to ensure quality health services.
(d) The replacement and purchase of new innovative medical technology equipment to upgrade the health services provided.
(e) The longitudinal assessment of health needs and the adequacy of resources available to meet them, in order to provide in-depth guidance on how the GHS will adapt to current needs. This was done within the framework of the Capacity Planning in the health sector in Cyprus which covers the avoidance of shortages or oversupply, thus ensuring the best possible organisation and adequacy of the services provided, as well as the smooth integration of new scientists.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In line with the strategic plan of the President of the Republic, the aim is to provide services that are person-centred and serve not only the management of illness, but above all, the promotion of health. The Ministry of Health will be a helper and pioneer in this effort, with the sole aim of achieving its highest mission, which is to ensure and optimize over time the level of health care provided to the citizens of our country.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you for your presence at the conference and wish you a successful conclusion.
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
