Filenews 8 August 2025 - by Marilena Panagi
Tricks by professionals and hospitals inside and outside the GHS, consumables that are reimbursed by the Health Insurance Organization and patients are asked to pay simultaneously from their own pocket with various excuses, services for which no protocols are applied, resulting in suffering and endangering patients, bad behavior, delays and psychological burden.
Last month, the Patients' Rights Observatory of the Federation of Cyprus Patients' Associations received 37 complaints, most of which related to the behaviour of professionals and the difficulties of citizens accessing services they needed.
Indicative is the case of a woman who was asked by her doctor, who is a member of the GHS, to pay out of her pocket for consumables which, as the doctor had informed her, are not covered by the System. Subsequently, the patient realized that the Health Insurance Organization had also compensated the doctor and so proceeded to a complaint to the HIO which is being investigated.
A second complaint concerned a patient who, as he said, visited a specialist doctor and was given a referral for examinations. After the tests, it was deemed necessary to undergo surgery. The patient, using his right to a second medical opinion, visited another doctor, who found that medical operations had been registered in his GHS software account that were never performed. The patient filed a complaint with the HIO for false recordings and her complaint is being investigated.
In another case, a citizen reported to the Patient Observatory that his elderly mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's, is undergoing treatments by a GHS doctor. Treatments, however, are not covered by the System. The doctor, as reported by the citizen, assured the family that the patient's symptoms would completely subside, which ultimately did not happen, resulting in the family believing that they had been deceived. The citizen told the Observatory that the doctor was asked to issue a detailed report in order to refer to a second doctor, but he refused.
Some of the complaints recorded in July by OSAK concerned, however, the behaviour of health professionals towards patients.
For example, a pregnant woman complained in writing to her gynaecologist, claiming that while she had given clear instructions on how she wanted to give birth to her child, a procedure was followed that she did not approve. Specifically, and according to the complaint, the woman had stated that she wished to bring her child into the world with a normal birth, something that the doctor did not accept. As a result, as she said, she was forced to change gynaecologists in the final stages of her pregnancy, resulting in a serious psychological burden.
"In pharmaceutical sedation without blankets and pillows"
Many questions arise from a complaint regarding patient mistreatment and incomplete services during his hospitalization.
Specifically, the citizen, in his complaint, spoke of "mistreatment, negligence and inhumane treatment". He denounced excessive drug repression, inadequate access to basic goods such as water, blankets and pillows, and "lack of medical care and poor behaviour on the part of staff".
Also, the father of a child referred to a delay and long waiting time, indifference, but also bad behaviour by the staff of the Accident and Emergency Department. As he reportedly reported to the Patient Observatory, his child had a high fever and shortness of breath, he was transferred to the A&E due to the absence of the doctor's staff, but he was waiting for about two hours with the behaviour of the professionals being characterized as "bad".
"The complaints received by the Patient Observatory are taken very seriously by OSAK," the president of the patients' federation, Charalambos Papadopoulos, told "F". "In any case, the Observatory informs the competent body, whether it is the HIO or the OCYPY or the Ministry of Health, and seeks answers for patients. Of course, there are also cases where patients need simple guidance, which is given to them. What was recorded last month certainly causes us particular concern because we notice that in many cases patients are deceived or their own wishes are not taken into account in terms of how to handle issues that concern them. This is, certainly, a violation of patients' rights. Beyond that, and because the Observatory also receives complaints concerning legal issues, we make it clear, once again, that these reports are recorded, because of course we want to know what the citizens themselves and the patients themselves have to say, but we certainly cannot intervene."
Some of the complaints received in July, Mr. Papadopoulos concluded, "we will also put them up for discussion with the HIO because citizens cannot be deceived. On the other hand, however, we must also point out the fact that we are very pleased to see that citizens have slowly begun to check the e-mails they receive from the Organization immediately after receiving health services from the GHS and identify various phenomena that they report to us."
A doctor was finally found to serve the child
A mother described her child's adventure to the Patient Observatory, claiming that, due to a lack of protocols and specialization, the young patient was transferred from one doctor to another and from one hospital to another, until he was finally served. Specifically, and according to the Patient Observatory, "a mother sent a letter to the competent authorities regarding the absence of specialized protocols in public hospitals for her minor child with a chronic condition". When the child had to be hospitalized after an accident, the mother said, "he was referred to Makarios Hospital, due to the need for specialized handling. Makarios Hospital, however, did not accept the child, on the grounds that they could not take responsibility for the handling of this particular incident." The child ended up in the public hospital of his city of residence where the doctor there "finally applied the correct protocol after his own research and information".