Private hospitals in Cyprus on the brink: acute nurse shortage and threat of measures from clinics

Private clinics in Cyprus are facing a growing crisis due to an acute shortage of nurses. This was stated by Marios Karaiskákis, president of the Association of Private Hospitals of Cyprus, emphasizing that the institutions are operating "at the limit of their capabilities" and can no longer wait for more studies instead of real solutions.

According to him, staff is already insufficient: departments remain dangerously understaffed, and the promised measures from the authorities have not been implemented. "We needed nurses yesterday, and now they are talking to us again about a new study," he noted on state radio.

The Association of Private Hospitals is pushing for a simplified procedure for hiring foreign nurses. The corresponding bill was supposed to be passed by parliament, but it was blocked by trade unions. As a result, the government proposed conducting an additional study of the situation, which the industry perceived as delaying the process.

Karaiskákis called the existing requirements absurd: foreign graduates of Cypriot nursing schools, who have obtained diplomas and are fluent in Greek, are required to have a master's degree to work, whereas such a requirement does not apply to Cypriot citizens. He did not rule out that the issue could reach European courts.

According to the association's head, in recent months representatives of private clinics have held numerous meetings at the ministry and parliament, submitted appeals and memoranda, but have not received any concrete decisions. If the situation does not change, hospitals are ready to announce measures that may affect the system's operation, despite not wanting to create inconvenience for patients.