GESY, our national health service, will be optimised, improved, and transformed. The best advisors money can buy from Cyprus and abroad will provide recommendations in partnership with unions.  

Once a year, all users of GESY will have the right to a full medical check-up and blood tests at wellbeing clinics. This ‘MOT’ will save lives and save GESY money in the long term. Prevention is better than cures or surgical procedures. Initially it will be introduced to the over-65s.

GESY will expand its mental wellbeing services.

GESY will subsidise charity hospices for end-of-life and palliative care. Those who are dying should do so with dignity while emotional and practical support is given to their loved ones. To fund this, perhaps political parties can reduce how much they take from the state, via laws their MPs passed.    

GESY in partnership with universities and the private sector will be asked to take part in ongoing international research, including how dogs can be trained to potentially smell for certain illnesses and using audio stimulation to potentially assist certain patients in comas. [Conflict of interest statement in full transparency: one of my companies owns technology and IP to undertake audio stimulation for coma patients. If requested, it will be licensed free of charge for this purpose] 

I will introduce schemes so that participating selected pharmacists on a rota will be open all night and even deliver medicines via motorbike courier similar to pizza. If a prescription is required, I will propose a small team of GESY doctors be available to discuss the problem with a patient via video call. At the end of the call, the doctor will either issue the prescription onto the GESY system or recommend the patient visits a hospital A&E for a consultation, or a GP the next day if less urgent.

I will commission a study with stakeholders and experts into how GESY can partner with the private sector for cosmetic surgery and dentistry tourism to subsidise its income. GESY will earn revenue from spare hospital bed capacity and undertaking the patient billing which will include selected off-peak hotels as part of the total package. This will mean the families of medical tourists will get free holidays, which will benefit our tourism industry.  

Organ donor cards

Organ donor cards or equivalent will be distributed via a national public awareness campaign. The accidental death of a loved one is a tragedy. Through this tragedy, many lives could be saved, and the blind can see. It will be a personal choice based on religious belief and families can discuss whether to all carry signed organ donor cards or not. All public-facing departments such as citizens’ centres and the department of transport can automatically provide organ donor cards when renewing a driving licence, ID, or visiting their offices. 

Subject to availability, the presidential jet generously gifted by Greece to Cyprus will be available for organ transportation and medical emergencies to/or from our neighbouring countries. 

First aid and emergency training at state schools

I firmly believe all state schools should implement first aid training, basic fire training, basic lifeguard skills, and earthquake preparedness training from age 7. The youngest children will learn to recognise an emergency and know how to phone 112 to state their location if there is no adult nearby. By age 13, they must learn how to use a defibrillator, how to resuscitate with or without one, how to recognise Cyprus’ snakes, how to safely deal with snake bites and how to perform most other first aid procedures until paramedics or doctors arrive on the scene. It could save their life or that of a member of the public, a friend, a teacher, or relative.

If elected president I would involve several stakeholders to implement this initiative. This will include unions, the fire service, education department, parent groups, lifeguard groups, the health ministry, and GESY. I invite all EU countries to follow my lead.

Formal award to GESY

In recognition to every member of GESY’s staff, for going above and beyond the call of duty during the pandemic, I propose GESY be awarded the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III as a body, from a very grateful nation. This is the highest award Cyprus can bestow which will be for all of GESY’s managers, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, support staff, cleaners, etc. All GESY state hospitals will show the 3D insignia with ‘2020’ underneath on their main entrances as a reminder to future generations. And all GESY GPs can show this joint award in their surgeries.