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It is with great pleasure and pride that I participate in tonight's ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone of the renovation and expansion project of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital in Nicosia.
As it is known, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is the only level 3 neonatal intensive care centre in Cyprus and serves as a reference centre in our country for the treatment of prematurity. It treats cases with pediatric surgical, pediatric cardiological, pediatric neurological, metabolic, genetic and other problems that occur in the neonatal period. The Unit receives referrals from all over Cyprus, from the British Bases and -this is another dimension I want to mention- from the occupied areas.
The Unit, of which we are particularly proud, was established in 1985, aiming at the development of perinatal medicine and neonatology in Cyprus. Its establishment, as a result of the sensitivity of society and the state to the problems of neonatal age, contributed decisively to addressing challenges that arose through such problems in our country.
I am particularly proud that in ten days we are laying the foundation stone of another Reconstruction Centre. Ten days ago we were at Nicosia General Hospital for another Centre of Excellence, Centre of Reference, the Trauma Centre. And because we usually, and in my case I have to mention it publicly, we usually criticise the State Health Services Organisation (SHSO), I would like to congratulate you on these two projects. In them we really see the vision of the NHS in our country. We are confident that we can achieve it.
One of the big goals during our administration is to get to a stage in this country where we do not have to send cases to other countries. To have the infrastructure, because we have the medical world. We are proud of our doctors, of the doctors at Makarios Hospital, everybody knows, they have personal experiences or from friends, relatives, how important our doctors are here at Makarios. And our country should be a centre of reference, where cases from other countries come to be treated in our country, rather than us sending them abroad. And we can do it.
I remember in 2002, when I was Consul General in London, the cases that we were sending to the UK for cardiac surgery issues and cardiac, in general, problems. Today all these cases can be treated in our country. And that is our goal, in this endeavour I want to assure the NHSF that the Government will be your closest supporter. We are confident that you can do it - the leaven is there, the infrastructure is there in our country, the greatest asset of this country is our human resources, our doctors and our nurses and all the support staff in general - and that should be our great goal.
The Unit currently has a total of 48 beds. 25 are level 3 and 4 intensive care beds, and the remaining 23 beds are level 2 intermediate care beds. As I mentioned before, it is the reference centre, a centre of excellence for all serious cases involving premature and term newborns, and the clinical management of any cases is based on European and international protocols and supported by modern equipment, which is provided by many charitable organisations in our country.
The Unit has an additional Neurodevelopmental Monitoring Clinic for newborns up to the age of two years, as well as prophylaxis to avoid infections which is so important for high-risk newborns.
The initiative for the construction of the Neonatal Unit belongs to the "Babies Miracles" Association, which entrusted the preparation of the plans to a team of scholars. The OCYPY, with the support of the Ministry of Health, of course, but also of the Association "Baby Miracles", launched a tender for the renovation and expansion of the Unit. The project, with a total area of 1,607 square metres, involves the renovation of the existing premises and the expansion of the Unit in a new area, which will be connected to the existing wing and has been leased exclusively for this purpose by the Government to OKYPY.
The renovation and expansion includes, inter alia, the creation of intensive care wards with 26 incubators, three isolation wards, as well as intermediate care wards with 24 incubators. At the same time, spaces for parents of minor patients will be created and upgraded, in order to make their visit and stay in the Unit as comfortable as possible.
The renovation and expansion project of the existing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, with a total value of more than 6.5 million - in the Education and Health sectors, we are here as a Government to invest, because it is an investment in these two sectors - is underway on schedule, and in accordance with the provisions of the Contract. Here is our big challenge; it is expected to be completed in September 2025.
Let me thank all those who have contributed to the promotion of the project, which will undoubtedly, among many other things, contribute to improving the quality of services offered in the health sector.
I especially thank the "Baby Miracles" Association for the initiative and for its contribution to the whole effort and, in general, for its continuous support to the Makarios Hospital. Special thanks to the President of the Association Mrs. Elena Megalemou Triantafyllidis for her dedication, her active involvement and her efforts to promote the project.
The Association "Baby Miracles" is not just a non-governmental organization that performs charitable work. It is something much more, something much more important: It is a big hug full of love for babies born prematurely who need essential support and help. With perseverance, patience and a lot of love above all, the people of the Association have managed to put prematurity on the map of volunteering in our country. Such actions, as well as actions by other non-governmental organizations, are worthy of congratulations, they complement everything we do as a State to provide citizens with quality health services. You are our close partners in this great effort to win this great bet, called upgrading the health services offered, and together we will move forward to achieve our common goals.
I close by saying that today we are laying the foundation for this great life's work, with feelings of joy, pride and emotion. It is an important day for our country, as it was a few days ago when we met at the Nicosia General Hospital. It is something we owe to the children, to the parents, to the whole of Cypriot society. Our joy will be even greater when the work is completed, in September 2025, and here is the big bet, to be here for the inauguration of the renovated Unit.
(PM/MS/EP/NYAN)
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