Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides on Monday set out what he described as his ministry’s five priorities as he presented a report on its work over the course of last year.

Those priorities, he said, are “prevention and public health, legislative protection and transparency, digital health, modern infrastructure, and a strong and sustainable Gesy,” he said.

He said his ministry aims to transition Cyprus’ healthcare system to one which “is not limited to treatment, but essentially invests in prevention, early diagnosis and improving people’s quality of life”.

“By turning prevention from an option into a priority, we are designing and implementing specific policies that are not limited to treatment, but invest in health before it is tested,” he said.

Those policies, he added, are being implemented “through specific… programmes”, which include the “upgrading” of breast cancer screening technology, providing for what he said will be “more timely and accurate diagnosis”.

He added that his ministry has also implemented a colon cancer screening programme which is free at the point of use for the first time, while also expanding the offer of screenings for prostate cancer and cervical cancer.

Additionally, he highlighted the planned creation of the national cancer institute, which he said will provide “a strong, autonomous, scientific pillar which will coordinate, organise and oversee the field of oncology as a whole”.

Away from the matter of cancer screenings, he said that “national strategies are being developed” on the matters of nutrition, physical activity, infections acquired in hospitals, and blood safety.

He then turned his attention to the matter of “legislative protection”, and said that his ministry is “closing gaps which existed for decades and turning them into concrete solutions”.

These concrete solutions, he said, include “uniform operating frameworks” and heightened supervision of procedures.

“We are regulating the operation of medical practices and dental practices with clear licencing rules and enhanced supervision. We are doing the same for physiotherapy clinics, setting quality standards and clear operating conditions,” he said.

He then passed comment on the offering of mental healthcare, saying that “we are strengthening the prevention of suicidal behaviour” and that his ministry is also updating its national action plan for dementia.

Later, he spoke about plans to open university clinics and modernise biomedical laboratories, saying that both plans “constitute essential steps for the modernisation of the health system”.

“We are providing solutions to pending issues that have been ongoing for years, and the government is implementing in practice its contract with society to upgrade the health sector,” he said.

He then added that the government is making “significant investments” in health infrastructure, “with new clinics, hospital upgrades, and the construction of the new Polis Chrysochous hospital”.

These investments, he said, will “enhance equal access for all to quality health services”.

In addition, he said the government had launched the “first national breast milk bank”, through which “we are ensuring that even the most vulnerable newborns will have access to the most precious commodity”.

“We are designing a health system with a decades-long horizon. We are proceeding with comprehensive human resource planning with analysis and forecasting for all specialities. With modern tools and digital platforms, we are ensuring that the system will be able to meet future needs,” he said.