The revelations made today before the Health Committee regarding the situation at Athalassa Hospital are a disgrace to Cyprus in 2026, a country that is otherwise European.
Patients sleeping on mattresses, unsuitable wards, overcrowding, understaffing, and patients who should not be in the hospital at all.
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“We heard about homeless people being housed there, we heard about minors being housed there, we heard about children with anorexia nervosa and children with severe autism. We’ve heard about people who should never have been in the Athalassa psychiatric hospital.”
Savia Orfanidou – DISY Member of Parliament
“Right now, I’m treating 121 people. Can we tell these people to leave when there’s no supportive environment waiting for them at home?”
Anthos Giannapis – Chief Nursing Officer, Mental Health Services
People with autism are at Athalassa Hospital because there is no facility to accommodate them, and the social stigma is enormous—hence the high number of admissions.
“Most families fear judgment, so they sweep the problem under the rug until they reach their breaking point. As soon as people found out we were going to set up a facility in some communities, we heard comments like, ‘So you’re going to bring all those people here, are you?’ They were collecting signatures, and we were looking for another area.”
Anthos Giannapis
It was also telling that mental health workers in community services wear plain clothes so they won’t be recognized and so that service recipients won’t be stigmatized.
The revelation that Athalassa Hospital can tell when adulterated drugs arrive in Cyprus also came as a shock.
“We can tell when a problematic batch of drugs has arrived in Cyprus based on the number of admissions for treatment, as well as on the condition of the young people who come to us.”
Anthos Giannapis
The situation is further complicated by the fact that when a patient is discharged, they are not required to continue their injectable treatment, resulting in relapse and readmission. Last year alone, out of 1,022 admissions, readmissions numbered around 550.
Watch Eleni Michael’s report:
