Larnaca hospital nurses stage stoppage over overcrowding and exhaustion

Larnaca, Cyprus. Nursing staff at Larnaca general hospital staged a one-hour work stoppage on Wednesday morning, citing longstanding problems including overcrowding and staff exhaustion.

The spontaneous action, announced by Pasydy’s general nursing staff branch, took place between 8am and 9am.

Overcrowding and staffing pressures

Pasydy said severe overcrowding in recent days had left patients waiting for hours in the accident and emergency department for hospital beds to become available.

Hospital management opened five additional beds staffed through overtime, but the union said the measure had not resolved the problem.

The union said nursing staff were at the limits of professional burnout and were required to work continuous overtime to meet demand. It warned that the situation was placing nurses’ physical and mental health, as well as patient safety, at risk.

Call for permanent measures

Pasydy called on state health services organisation Okypy management to introduce substantive and permanent solutions to Larnaca hospital’s longstanding problems, rather than temporary measures.

Hourly-paid workers’ strike

Around 11,000 hourly-paid workers are expected to take part in a strike on Thursday. The group includes about 6,500 hourly-paid government employees and a further 5,500 workers employed by Okypy and school boards who are outside the government payroll.

The finance ministry on Tuesday urged unions to reconsider the strike and return to negotiations, saying their demands would cost €50 million over the three-year collective agreement.

The ministry said the central point of disagreement was a demand for a general eight per cent pay increase.