Health insurer responds after four-year-old dies of meningitis

Nicosia, Cyprus. The health insurance organisation on Thursday defended its oversight of Gesy-contracted hospitals after a four-year-old boy died of meningitis, amid claims by his family that he had not been diagnosed in time.

The boy developed a fever on July 8 and was hospitalised in Limassol before his parents requested his transfer to the Makarios children’s hospital in Nicosia. He appeared to suffer brain death while being transferred.

Organisation response

The organisation said ensuring timely, quality and unhindered access to healthcare services for Gesy beneficiaries was its key priority.

It said it systematically monitors the operation of contracted hospitals and other healthcare providers and intervenes where necessary.

The organisation added that it recognises there is room for improvement and is taking necessary action.

Hospitalisation figures

Around 27,000 hospitalisations take place each month in Gesy-contracted hospitals, the organisation said.

Cases involving patients hospitalised after transfer from another hospital account for 1.4 per cent of monthly hospitalisations, it added.

It said that in the vast majority of cases, beneficiaries’ hospitalisation and treatment are completed smoothly.

The organisation said the figures did not negate the seriousness of any individual incident but showed that such problems were not the norm and helped identify areas requiring improvement.

Investigation launched

Dozens of people demonstrated outside Limassol general hospital after the boy’s death on Friday last week, following claims that his meningitis had not been diagnosed in time.

State health services organisation Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charilaou confirmed last month that an investigation into the case had been launched.