Atalassa Psychiatric Hospital is twice over capacity: patients forced to sleep on the floor

The Cyprus Association of Mental Health Organizations (PaFOPsI) has said there is a critical situation at Atalassa Psychiatric Hospital in Nicosia. The number of patients is twice the normal capacity, which has led to a sharp decline in the quality of medical care and violations of sanitary standards.

Main problems and details of the crisis:
• Acute shortage of beds: In the wards, mattresses are being placed on the floor, while double rooms are being converted into three- and four-bed rooms.
• Causes of overcrowding: The congestion arose after the closure of the emergency and unsafe old buildings, followed by the transfer of patients to other premises. In the acute care wards there are now up to 40 people instead of 22, and in the addiction treatment unit (ΘΕΜΕΑ) — more than 30 people with a capacity of 20 beds.
• Problems with treatment and care: Due to the overcrowding, there are no organised psychosocial programmes, and therapy has largely been reduced to medication treatment. Some chronic patients have been discharged to nursing homes whose staff are not trained to work with mental disorders.
• Authorities’ position and infrastructure: The recently opened first phase of the new Mental Health Centre has not solved the problem, as the number of beds there has remained unchanged. Talks on launching the second phase of the hospital’s development are stalling over coordination of funding with the Ministry of Finance.