Filenews 3 December 2025 - by Marilena Panayi
Amounts that in some cases reach €150 are required to be paid out of pocket by beneficiaries of the General Health System for services they receive through the GHS from providers of the System.
In two cases in the last month, complaints reached "F" from citizens, who were asked to pay from €70 to €110 to undergo a gastroscopy or colonoscopy in the presence of an anaesthesiologist and, at the same time, paid out of their own pocket to buy the medicines they were required to take before these examinations.
Both beneficiaries also appealed, at the same time, protesting to the Patient Rights Observatory of the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations, with OSAK demanding, according to the spokesman, Dimitris Lambrianides, "a change in this practice because it results in patients, beneficiaries, paying privately, at the moment they receive services through the GHS, at the suggestion of their doctors and not because they simply decided to undergo an examination".
In the first case, a citizen who contacted "F" stated that: "My doctor referred me for colonoscopy and gastroscopy due to laboratory tests which gave specific indications. All through the GHS. When I contacted the specialist doctor of the competent specialty (gastroenterologist), they informed me: 1) That I have to pay out of my own pocket €110 (for each examination) for anaesthesiologist services and 2) that I have to pay out of my own pocket for the preparations I need to take in preparation for the colonoscopy." The fact, the citizen said, "is an absurdity. I am a beneficiary of the GHS, the act is done within the GHS. The doctors consider it necessary for me to undergo the examination and I am asked to pay more or less €250 to ensure the services I demonstrably need."
In the second case, the citizen who contacted "F" should have undergone a gastroscopy and his doctor asked to pay €70 for the services of an anaesthesiologist. "If I couldn't afford to pay these €70, what would I do? I would look for another doctor to ask him if he needs an anaesthesiologist or I wouldn't do the test I need," he said.
The HIO reported to "F" that the state of intoxication in which patients must be during the specific operations are covered by the GHS and are included in the total compensation of the act. However, some doctors state that they need the presence of an anaesthesiologist and therefore the beneficiary is asked to pay the amount requested by the anaesthesiologist to participate in the examination.
"What we as OSAK say, and we will officially put it in the HIO, is that under no circumstances should the patient pay, either for the inability of a doctor to carry out an act, or for the disagreement between doctors or for the decisions taken at the level of the Organization, without taking into account the consequences, Because there are consequences here. The patient is asked to pay out of his own pocket and certainly not all citizens are able to pay these amounts to undergo the tests they need", Dimitris Lambrianidis stressed in his statements to "F".
Also, he said, "we must emphasize that we are not at all satisfied with the argument that some doctors say they can't and because they say so we simply give them the right to charge patients with €70 or €100 or more to undergo an examination that they themselves think their patient needs. It is certainly not a solution for the patient to look for a doctor who does not need an anaesthesiologist during the examination to avoid paying the specific amount."
If, based on international data, the operation falls within the doctor's responsibilities, "then if the doctor feels that he cannot carry it out safely, he must pay the anaesthesiologist himself, since he himself deems that he needs it".
If, based on international data, it does not fall within the doctor's responsibilities "and the doctor declares weakness, the HIO must pay the amount to the anaesthesiologist. At the same time, the HIO," said the OSAK spokesman, "could reach an agreement with the competent scientific medical society. Under no circumstances should the patient, the beneficiary of the GHS, pay for a service included in the GHS that he needs and what we mention also concerns the preparations that patients must receive before a colonoscopy, for example." OSAK's position, he added, "is clear, as is our demand for an immediate resolution of this issue by the HIO".
