On Friday, 18 February 2022, a three-member delegation from the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Association for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (CYCCA) visited Member of the European Parliament Mr Demetris Papadakis at his office in Nicosia. During the meeting, CYCCA presented a number of long-standing challenges faced by both the Association and patients living with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. The main issues raised included:

- Challenges experienced during the administration of biological therapy infusions in public hospitals.

- The shortage of gastroenterologists within public healthcare facilities.

- Periodic shortages of medications for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. In addition, the frequent collection of medication by chronic patients from public pharmacies (currently every month) could be reduced to three or four times per year to better support patients.

- Patients who receive medication from public pharmacies or undergo biological therapy infusions are often required to take leave from work one or two times per month.

- Antibody and drug-level testing for biological therapies should be made available in Cyprus in order to save patients both time and money. The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) should adopt this proposal and cover the reduced cost of these tests.

- Greater support is needed for severely affected patients who are unable to work and often become socially isolated. This is commonly referred to as an invisible disability and should be formally recognised by the state. Patients’ requests for disability benefits should be considered, as is already the case in other countries.

We would like to thank Mr Papadakis and his team for their willingness to assist in addressing these important patient issues, and we hope to see positive outcomes in the near future.

Together We Can!