Filenews 3 September 2025
The appointment of the first Patient Advocate will be completed in September, the Minister of Health, Michalis Damianos, told the Daily Telegraph, assuring that the new institution is in the final phase of activation.
According to the competent Minister, the appointment of the Patient Advocate is now at an advanced stage and will be announced within the next two weeks. As he explained, it took a little more time for the final selection of the person who will be appointed as the first Ombudsman, since, as he noted, it is an "emblematic institution"
Asked to refer to the reasons why the Patient's Ombudsman has not been appointed to date, Mr. Damianos said that it is at the discretion of the President of the Republic to proceed with the appointment of the appropriate person, without any problem or delay on the part of the Ministry.
"It is at the discretion of the President of the Republic to proceed with the competent person. The institution of the Ombudsman is also emblematic, since he will also be the first Ombudsman, so he still needs some time. The position will be filled in September," he said.
In the Ministry, the supervision of the GHS
Moreover, responding to criticism of the lack of supervision, Mr. Damianos explained that the responsibility for supervision of the GHS has been transferred by law to the Ministry of Health and that the staff of the former Commissioner "remains active", performing the same duties as before.
As Mr. Damianos said, "the Ministry of Health, instead of having a Commissioner, has supervision, to note that the staff who work in complaint management and monitoring of the health system remain in the same offices and use the same equipment.
The staffing process of the new Unit is in progress
Also, the Minister of Health mentioned that the position of Director of the new service for supervision in the Ministry of Health has already been announced, noting that the position has also been included in the 2026 budget.
"There were also recent newspaper reports about this position," he said.
Asked if there is a recorded action report of the new Supervision and Control Unit, Mr. Damianos said that this will be done for the year we are going through and in 2026.
However, he noted that although an action report has not yet been issued, the new Unit operates within the framework of the new responsibilities provided for by the legislation, noting that the reports of the Unit and the Ombudsman will be published, as stipulated by the recently amended law.
No additional housing costs
Regarding the issue of infrastructure, Mr. Damianos clarified that there is no additional cost for the transition from the Commissioner to the new structure.
He explained that the offices used by the Commissioner remain active and house the staff that continues the supervision of the GHS, the Clinical Documentation Centre under establishment and soon the Patient Ombudsman.
"So the space exists and will remain. The staff are civil servants seconded there and the space remains operational," he added.
Responding to a statement by AKEL, which spoke of a lack of transparency and effective supervision, the Minister of Health spoke of "unfair criticism", stressing that "supervision proceeds as provided for by law" and that "the same staff who were in the Commissioner continue to carry out the same work under the direction of the Ministry".
«There is no lack of transparency. The staff that existed in the Commissioner continues to exist. The supervision continues, it simply falls under the Ministry of Health," he said.
CNA
