General
The health standards compare favourably with those of developed countries. As shown by demographic data, life expectancy is similar to that of developed countries, maternal mortality is almost zero, and the infant mortality rate is slightly higher.

The achievement of a high level of health is attributed to the improvement of healthcare services and the high standard of living. Cyprus enjoys excellent living conditions. Appropriate treatment of drinking water, excellent weather conditions and a good transport network are some of the factors that have contributed to the achievement of high levels of health indicators among the Cypriot population.

The main causes of death are the same as those afflicting the industrially developed countries of Europe. Infectious diseases do not constitute a serious public health problem in Cyprus today, while cardiovascular diseases, cancer, road traffic and other accidents constitute the main causes of death.

Hospital care has been improved and decentralised. There are new general hospitals in all the provinces, while the construction of the New General Hospitals of Nicosia and Famagusta have recently been completed.

Tertiary medical care has been developed to such a degree that a lot of cases which used to be sent for treatment abroad, are now being treated in Cyprus. Kidney transplantations, open heart surgery, cardiac catheterisations and neurosurgical interventions are now routinely carried out in Cyprus.

The private sector of health care supply successfully covers around 50% of primary and secondary health care and makes a significant contribution to the maintenance of high level of health. New clinics are being established in the private sector while the number of new doctors and dentists entering the corresponding registries is increasing.

The voluntary sector provides in an essential way, remarkable social programmes and services, in the health domain and health related issues. These include palliative and long-term care/pharmaceutical care, diagnostic and clinical services, etc.

Health Insurance System
Reform in the health sector constitutes a high priority of government policy. The existing health system has been criticized a lot on account of fragmentation of services, lack of co-ordination between the public and private sector, inequalities in financing, and in general for its inability to respond adequately to people’s expectations.

On 20 April 2001, the House of Representatives voted a law on the introduction of a General System of Health Insurance (ΓΕΣΥ), which will provide free medical care. The (ΓΕΣΥ) will cover all citizens of the Republic. The introduction of (ΓΕΣΥ) and the management of its Funds are the responsibility of the Health Insurance Organisation, a legal entity of public law. The organisation, is managed by a ten member Executive Board. When it begins its operations it will purchase health services from the government and from the private health care provider institutions.

The success of the introduction of (ΓΕΣΥ) will depend on the reorganisation of public health sector at executive and operational levels. The Government has carried out studies on the reorganisation of the Ministry of Health and its Departments. These studies make recommendations for the creation of suitable structures and processes in order to enable the Ministry to perform its strategic and regulatory role.

At the same the Ministry is in the process of promoting the autonomy of public hospitals in order to ensure their economic viability in the competitive environment that will follow the introduction of (ΓΕΣΥ). The Ministry of Health has prepared a bill for the creation of self governing hospitals. The bill provides for the transformation of existing hospitals into a legal entities of public law. The bill also provides for the upgrading of the management structures of the hospitals with the creation of suitable executive boards.

Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health of Cyprus, through its services, programs of health promotion and illness prevention and the provision of quality health care to all citizens, aims at the continuous improvement and upgrading of the health standards of the Cypriot population.

Health and Public Health Services
The Public Health Services of the Department οf Medical and Public Health Services of the Ministry of Health have as their objective, the adoption of preventive measures in a wide spectrum of the Environmental Health issues. For the accomplishment of this objective various programs are implemented in cooperation with local authorities or other Departments.

Cyprus National Bioethics Committee
The Cyprus National Bioethics Committee is an independent body and does not fall under the administration of any Ministry, independent officer, department or service.The 13 Members of the Committee, including the President, are appointed by the Council of Ministers. Their duty period is quadrennial, with the right of re-appointment for a second 4-year term.

Related Links ...

http://www.ygeia.com.cy/ 

http://www.paidiatros.com/