Nicosia, Cyprus. Seven years after the introduction of the national Health Scheme, Gesy, PEO said on Wednesday that the system is a collective responsibility and one of the Republic’s key social reforms. The trade union said the scheme resulted from years of efforts by trade unions, organised patients and society to secure equal access to healthcare regardless of income or background.
System value and public access
PEO said Gesy has demonstrated its value over the past seven years by providing hundreds of thousands of people with medical services that had previously been inaccessible.
The union said that despite ongoing challenges, Gesy is now recognised as a significant improvement in quality of life.
Calls to protect and strengthen the system
PEO said the system must be protected and strengthened, and called for continued investment in public hospitals, which it described as the foundation of healthcare.
It urged the authorities to address abuses within the system, improve service quality and ensure Gesy’s long-term financial sustainability while preserving its universal character.
Resource planning and patient needs
The union called for a formal capacity-planning system to assess actual healthcare needs, saying the system’s financial condition allows for improvements that would benefit patients.
PEO said the focus should move away from simply accumulating reserves and toward reassessing and redistributing resources to improve services.
Access gaps and additional support
PEO pointed to continuing obstacles for patients, including access to physiotherapy, rehabilitation, home care and preventive examinations.
It also called for urgent subsidies for non-prescription medicines for vulnerable groups and for faster integration of new services and treatments.