Cyprus-Forum.com

[YFred]

Learn Greek if you want medical treatment
By Anna Hassapi

DOCTORS from Limassol Hospital, accused by a Lebanese patient of racism, told the Sunday Mail the man should learn Greek if he wanted to be treated by them.

Two of the three accused doctors launched into a verbal attack when questioned during an arranged meeting with them to discuss the case. “It’s about the Arab? I don’t even know who you are, I don’t want to talk to you,” one doctor said.

“This man has a hospital card type A, which means that he is entitled to free care like a Cypriot. Instead of being grateful, he kept complaining and called us racist. So we refused to talk to him in English. He is an Arab and if he wants to enjoy the rights of a Cypriot he should learn Greek. If he went to Germany would they give him citizenship without learning the language? If you go to an Arab country and insult them, will they give you medical care? No! They will attack you!” said another. “We are not racist, he made us become racist.”

The 55-year-old Limassol resident, who is a naturalized Cypriot citizen told the Sunday Mail earlier in the week that he was the victim of negligence, abuse and racism by nurses and doctors at the Limassol General Hospital.

The man who has chronic health problems requiring frequent medical attention is now afraid to return to hospital, as he was told that he has to learn Greek if he wants to receive medical attention.

“I am afraid to go back there because I don’t know if word has come out at the hospital that I am a ‘troublemaker’ and they will all refuse to see me, or will treat me badly,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He was checked into hospital on March 12 with an infection and was kept for treatment for a week. He does not speak Greek, which in his opinion also sparked what he called the racist reaction by some of the nurses. On one occasion, the drip’s needle broke in his arm, but a nurse refused to replace it unless he learned how to speak Greek, the man said.

“It was very painful when the needle broke in my arm, but when I asked the nurse in English to replace it, she replied that she would only do it if I spoke in Greek. She then left the room, and abandoned me there with a broken needle in my arm,” he added.

The doctors in charge said they had been informed about the incident but justified it on the grounds that the patient was causing trouble.

A Cypriot patient with whom he shared a room had started laughing on account of the nurse’s behaviour, he said. This made him angry. “It made me feel that he was laughing at my pain. So, I told him that Cypriots were treating foreigners very badly and that it was no wonder the Turks decided to invade Cyprus,” he said.

Regardless of the comment, which the Lebanese man agreed was probably insensitive, he felt it didn’t justify the reaction by nurses and doctors who are obliged to treat patients regardless of their background or beliefs.

“After that, no-one came to see me. No doctor came into my room for four days. I felt I was being punished for what I said. Then, I wanted to check out, but they refused to prescribe medicine for me, so I resorted to contacting someone I know who works at the hospital, so that I could get some attention,” he said.

The man said he was then called into the office of the three doctors in question, who identified themselves as Dr Nicolaou, Dr Timotheou and Dr Ioannou.

He said the three conferred in Greek and at one point one of them turned to him and said in English: “This is Cyprus and we speak Greek. We don’t speak English and we don’t speak any foreign language. You came here to get treatment and you keep complaining. Just get out.”

The patient added: “It was like being abused by the doctors - the people who are supposed to be helping patients. I clearly felt that they were racist.”

When the Sunday Mail broached the issue during the arranged meeting with the doctors they became angry when ultimately questioned.

“Who are you anyway? I have not heard of your name before. You are not the media. You do not work for a TV channel. Since when do newspapers write about people’s complaints?” one of them said.




Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

[paliometoxo]

the man shouldent have been so rude to the doctors who are there to help but i dont thinkt he doctors should of reacted in such a way they should be patient with the patients and try put up with it no matter what they do or say instead of refusing to speak to them in english. but they are right if you went to arap country and insulted them they probably wouldent treat you

[DT.]

the man shouldent have been so rude to the doctors who are there to help but i dont thinkt he doctors should of reacted in such a way they should be patient with the patients and try put up with it no matter what they do or say instead of refusing to speak to them in english. but they are right if you went to arap country and insulted them they probably wouldent treat you

palio...Yfred is whats known as a forumdungbeetle. He goes around looking for any bad shit regarding his enemies and drags it back here in his nest.

the smart thing is to just let his shit decompose instead of posting on it and dragging the shit backup.

[YFred]

the man shouldent have been so rude to the doctors who are there to help but i dont thinkt he doctors should of reacted in such a way they should be patient with the patients and try put up with it no matter what they do or say instead of refusing to speak to them in english. but they are right if you went to arap country and insulted them they probably wouldent treat you

palio...Yfred is whats known as a forumdungbeetle. He goes around looking for any bad shit regarding his enemies and drags it back here in his nest.

the smart thing is to just let his shit decompose instead of posting on it and dragging the shit backup.

I am shocked. If you take the racist behaviour of a medical doctor so lightly, what chance do we have of peaceful coexistence.

Forumdungbeetle? Enemy? Do you remember our discussions about the justice system, judges and police of the RoC when I first joined? Unless it is seriously addressed it will not go away.

[YFred]

the man shouldent have been so rude to the doctors who are there to help but i dont thinkt he doctors should of reacted in such a way they should be patient with the patients and try put up with it no matter what they do or say instead of refusing to speak to them in english. but they are right if you went to arap country and insulted them they probably wouldent treat you

Palio, I have never heard such a conversation from a medical doctor of any race.

[bill cobbett]

the man shouldent have been so rude to the doctors who are there to help but i dont thinkt he doctors should of reacted in such a way they should be patient with the patients and try put up with it no matter what they do or say instead of refusing to speak to them in english. but they are right if you went to arap country and insulted them they probably wouldent treat you

Palio, I have never heard such a conversation from a medical doctor of any race.

... kai aman bosbasto masi sou tha thelies nesokomio kai yiatrous.

[YFred]

the man shouldent have been so rude to the doctors who are there to help but i dont thinkt he doctors should of reacted in such a way they should be patient with the patients and try put up with it no matter what they do or say instead of refusing to speak to them in english. but they are right if you went to arap country and insulted them they probably wouldent treat you

Palio, I have never heard such a conversation from a medical doctor of any race.

... kai aman bosbasto masi sou tha thelies nesokomio kai yiatrous.

Me or you Charlie? I betting you will. Whats the odds?

Have you ever heard any doctor or a nurse to refuse treatment on any grounds other than self protection?
This is a very serious matter.

[bill cobbett]

All I can say in a sentence brother is that all doctors have a duty to dispense care for those in need.

...but to bring this up on CyProb does make me question your motives.

[YFred]

All I can say in a sentence brother is that all doctors have a duty to dispense care for those in need.

...but to bring this up on CyProb does make me question your motives.

Isn't intolerance main part of the Cyprus problem, no matter whom from? You have got me all wrong.

[Viewpoint]

Why do you people ignore these fundamental errors which show that GCs have not changed 1 iota from the same discriminative mindset they displayed against TCs back in the 1960s this has only gone underground to surface here and there but if we unite these will be daily occurancies.