The new haemodialysis unit at the Paphos general hospital is suffering from a “major shortage” of nursing staff , unit director Lakis Yioukkas said on Wednesday. He said a total of 17 nurses currently work at the unit, and that they cannot possibly operate all 25 dialysis stations. “If we operated all 25 dialysis stations, we would not have a night shift,” he said, adding that he had had no choice but to open the new unit in October with the same number of nurses as worked in the smaller old unit, as “if we had expected a full complement of staff, the operation would not have started”.
“Today, the unit operates with the main staff which existed at the old dialysis unit, and with 16 dialysis stations in three shifts,” he said, adding that “efforts are now being made” to find more nurses to staff the unit . He also pointed out that there is currently “no problem” with the number of doctors working at the unit. Additionally, he drew attention to the existence of a separate peritoneal dialysis unit, which has not yet been operational, a “yellow unit” for carriers of hepatitis B, and a short-term hospitalisation unit for Covid-19 patients, describing these areas as “innovative changes”.
“ At the moment, we have a patient being treated in the yellow unit who previously used to go back and forth to Nicosia ,” he said. He also said a transplant coordinator will soon begin working at the unit to serve people who intend to donate kidneys to their rel.
