Cyprus approved a plan to combat hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic resistance

The Cypriot government has approved a package of measures aimed at tackling hospital-acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance — a problem the Ministry of Health describes as one of the key threats to patient safety.

Among the main steps is the connection of all public and private hospitals to the national Biocare platform, which will collect data on cases of hospital infections and the use of antimicrobial drugs. At the first stage, the system will also monitor hand hygiene compliance and a number of organisational and infrastructure indicators related to infection control.

The Ministry of Health stressed that Cyprus records high levels of antibiotic consumption and high resistance rates, which is why the measures are being introduced as part of a more systematic control framework.