Collapse risk: Atalassa psychiatric hospital clinics declared unsafe

In four clinics and administrative buildings of the Atalassa Psychiatric Hospital, a collapse could occur at any moment, potentially leading to casualties. This was stated by the head of the healthcare sector of the AKEL party, Athos Georgiou.

According to him, out of 150 beds, only about 50 are considered safe, while the rest are located in facilities that do not meet safety requirements. Georgiou called the hospital unfit for use and urged the Ministry of Health to take immediate measures to protect patients and staff.

The politician pointed to:

• critically worn infrastructure
• chronic underfunding
• service reductions
• staff shortages and lack of training
• a frozen second phase of modernization that was never implemented

He emphasized that authorities should not wait for a tragedy to act, noting that AKEL has already submitted two official complaints that went unanswered.

Separately, Georgiou criticized the new leadership of the Cyprus Anti-Drug Agency, stating that its members lack relevant expertise. He also reported a complaint against the organization's chairman and potential legal violations to which authorities have not responded.

Furthermore, Georgiou accused OKYPY (the State Health Services Organization) of systematically weakening state rehabilitation programs. In particular, the THEMEA center in Nicosia, originally designed for 20 beds with outpatient and preventive programs, today operates with only 6 beds, without external services, and suffers from acute staff shortages.