The American Hearth Institute  launched operations in its new euro50m Nicosia premises this week as Europes first green hospital, aiming to promote Cyprus as medical centre.

The hospital is environmentally friendly with 50% of its energy needs covered by renewable sources.

It covers an area of  10.000 m2 and has a capacity of 50 beds. Half the rooms are single-bed, minimising the possibility of infections during treatment, said one of its directors, Marinos Sotiriou.

“At the same it means the relatives can spend more time with patients, helping their morale with a direct positive effect on their recovery.” Sotiriou said.

The new hospital covers cardiology, heart surgery, general surgery and orthopaedics. Future plans include the creation of a centre to treat strokes.

The hospital in technologically advanced and perhaps the only medical centre in the Middle East offering a hybrid operating theatre where catheterisation and surgerycan be carried out at the same time. It offers luxury hotel style facilities patients can watch television on a personal screen through Wi-Fi as well as choose a video or tolk on skype and order food from the hospital’s restaurant.

Sotiriou said the cost of treatment at the new premises will not be higher than at the Instituute’s promises at Apollonion Hospital.

“In planning this hospital, we did not want to create a hospital for the elite that would be unapproachable to the average citizen. We wanted to offer medical services in line with or better than those currently offered by medical centres aboard, with the lowest possible cost and to help patients feel comfortable and safe from the moment they set foot in the building to the time they are healthy and discharged,” Sotiriou said.

The building is an “architectural jewel”, warm in winter and cool in summer using geothermal energy while heat storage units on its roof produce electricity.

A helipad on its roof will help cater for emergency cases.

“We hope to service the medical needs of our country and attract patients from aboard, with 30% of patients already being non-cypriot,”  said director Christos Christou.

Expressing pride in the new hospital. Health Minister Christos Patsalides said one of his ministry’s main strategic aims was to develop and support medical tourism with the cooperation of the private sector.

“The hospital is such a modern medical centre offering top medical services in Cyprus. our aims is also to bring under one umbrella the private and public sectors for the benefit of patients”, he said.

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