Minister of Health Ali Pilli visited the fire damaged units of Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital and made statements about the latest condition of the hospital.
During his visit, Pilli was accompanied by hospital officials, as well as the Mapfree Insurance Company Directors Alişan Oşan and Ömer Şan.
Pilli said there will be a very superior Intensive Care service at the hospital with 170 breathing devices. He also said that while the Ministry of Health was preparing for a pandemic as of December 2019, one of the biggest fires in Cyprus was experienced at the hospital and services were damaged and the hospital was completely inoperable.
Pilli said that all units of the ruling/opposition Government, Institutions and Municipalities supported the Ministry on both fire and COVID-19 issues, and since 9th March, they struggled with COVID-19 while also making an intense effort to open the hospital for the use of other sick people.
Minister of Health Ali Pilli expressed his gratitude to all the healthcare professionals who had worked during this process.
Chief Physician Adil Özyılkan stated that the hospital, which was opened in 1978, was damaged after an unfortunate fire 2 months ago, and that the damage at the hospital has now been made good and was in a stronger state. Özyilkan said, “The hospital became unusable due to the fire in the Cardiovascular, Surgery and Intensive Care units, and most of the damage was rectified and heart operations were resumed.”
Mapfree Insurance Director Alişan Oşan stated that after the unfortunate fire that occurred on February 28, they wanted to work quickly and get the hospital up and running despite all the difficulties, and that they did their best to deal with the pandemic process in particular.
Oşan said “We have made our hospital much better than before”, saying that they have achieved a good success both from the municipality with their efforts, and thanked all healthcare professionals, press members, municipalities, security forces, police and everyone taking an active role in the field.
Minister of Health, Ali Pilli, stated that Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital was the flagship of Lefkoşa and after the unfortunate fire disaster the KVC service and operating room have been restored and have become better than before.
Giving information that there were other services which were affected by smoke damage, Pilli noted that they acted swiftly, with everyone giving help to the Ministry of Health, and the damage at the hospital was dealt with in a short time. He also emphasised that the hospital’s deficiencies will continue to be fulfilled and thanked everyone who helped in this process.
Minister Pilli also said: “When COVID-19 began to appear in the world in December 2019, as we were preparing for the pandemic, a major fire occurred in the biggest hospital in the TRNC on 28th February 2020, and the Intensive Care, KVC, both the service and operating room, were completely out of function and other services were damaged.
After February 28, we quickly recovered from the damage and we started fighting COVID-19 and at the same time we were trying to make our hospital better than before. Our hospital has become better as compared to the past and we will continue to work and complete the deficiencies of our hospital.
All of our healthcare professionals, the Government, the Opposition and Prime Minister Ersin Tatar were by our side supporting us to improve our health services. Thank you very much to everyone.”
Pilli stated that when the hospital was declared as a pandemic hospital it was better than ever before, and it will be taken further, the respirators have been increased from 36 to 54, 105 are on the way, and a very high intensive care service will be reached with the achievement of 170 by the end of April.
Stating that the controls of everyone entering and exiting the hospital are made in the most meticulous way, Pilli also asked the public to keep the visitors to a minimum number.
Pilli said that the COVID-19 virus has not left the country, and that the necessary precautions should not ignored, there may be unknown cases, and by paying attention to social distancing, paying attention to hygiene rules, wearing a mask and distancing from patients, the virus should be contained until a vaccine is found.
Stating that the business also has an economic and social dimension, Pilli stated that at the beginning of May, certain workplaces will be opened in consultation with the Health Board, and the plan will be continued by opening up overseas with the fourth and last stage the opening of schools.
Explaining that the strategy of the Ministry of Health has been continuing since December and that there is no deviation from this route, Pilli accepted this as a war and pointed out the importance of the same struggle in unity for everyone. Stating that this spirit of struggle exists today as it was before 74, Pilli thanked institutions, organisations and everyone who had contributed to the process.
Pilli stated, in response to a question, that the Ministry’s contact tracking team is strong and that the contacts are detected and tested as soon as possible, and that there is now a pause period. 500-600 tests are done per day, and this number will be increased in future days. Stating that the public also made an important contribution in reaching this level, Pilli thanked the citizens who contributed by wearing a mask, staying at home and following the rules, and members of the press who were sensitive regarding this issue.
Source (Turkish): Ministry of Health
