Filenews 17 February 2026 - by Marilena Panayi
A patient with shortness of breath was discharged despite not being in good condition, returned to the hospital by ambulance and died. An elderly woman was transported by taxi from the hospital to the shelter where she lived after being discharged and a few hours later she died.
A child with deep facial injuries from a dog bite received only superficial care without antibiotics in First Aid, resulting in a severe infection that led to a multi-day hospitalization, deformity, and risk of serious complications.
Delays in surgeries, patients coming and going from one hospital to another until they are served, inadequate care, bedsores and serious complaints of bad behaviour towards patients and relatives.
The picture recorded last month by the Patient Rights Observatory of the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations is of great concern as the complaints concern a large number of hospitals, both the State Health Services Organization and the private sector, with OSAK putting everyone in front of their responsibilities. OKYPY, individuals, HIO and the Ministry of Health.
Of the total 48 complaints received by the Observatory in January, 20 concerned the management and treatment of patients who needed inpatient care services. In fact, all this comes in addition to the serious complaints of the last few days concerning inadequate patient care and deaths in the hospital of Larnaca.
"We are observing an image that does not honour anyone and certainly does not honour the health system of the country in general," said OSAK spokesman Dimitris Lambrianidis speaking to "F".
"We find that the problem does not concern only one or two hospitals, but a number of hospitals and health professionals who operate and work in the public and private sectors within the GHS but also in the private sector outside the General Health System."
In several cases of elderly patients, "relatives complain of early discharge, non-admission for hospitalization, delays in critical interventions and deterioration that led to death. As OSAK, we address the competent bodies, in any case asking for answers, but as it turns out, in several cases the answers are not satisfactory, while in others the citizens themselves do not proceed with named and official complaints, as a result of which it is not possible to investigate what they report."
The quality of services to patients, "especially the services offered within the GHS, a System that does not face any financial hardship at all, on the contrary, must be appropriate and we no longer only demand from OKYPY or any private body to respect the dignity of citizens but we also address the Health Insurance Organization stressing that it must take its measures because it is the competent body for our health. However, we also address the Ministry of Health, which, based on the law, must exercise its supervisory role. Even if half of what was recorded in the Observatory last month fully corresponds to reality, we have a serious problem."
What were the 20 complaints about?
· Discontinuation of psychiatric treatment without consultation with the attending physician, with subsequent deterioration and aspiration.
· Administration of multiple psychiatric drugs without a clear justification and transfer of a patient tied up, without medical documents.
· Creating a wound in an ICU patient that was not adequately monitored.
· Improper feeding with risk of aspiration.
· Inadequate bedsore care.
Incidents are also recorded:
· Inadequate treatment of a haemorrhagic emergency in a patient with haemophilia, due to delays and bureaucracy.
· Incorrect or inadequate treatment of a dog bite in a child, without antibiotics, which led to severe infection and multi-day hospitalization.
· Incorrect management of a foreign body ingestion incident, with a delay in diagnosis.
· Delays in surgical rehabilitation after a car accident.
In three of the complaints, citizens reported that they had to go to more than one hospital to secure the services they or a relative needed.
Some of the complaints concerned the possibility of medical negligence. For example, a complaint concerned a private hospital with the patient claiming that after surgery he developed serious complications resulting in the loss of a large percentage of his mobility.
"OSAK receives complaints that show us repeated behaviours and practices but also a lack of trust between citizens, patients and families and health professionals. Lack of trust often leads to wrong behaviours. That is why we say that everyone has their own responsibilities."
As OSAK, "we will demand the taking of measures by all competent bodies and we call on the Pancyprian Medical Association to be by our side in this effort because when we see these phenomena, the prestige of medicine in Cyprus is definitely affected and this is something that we must not allow to happen".
Larnaca hospital in the vise after repeated complaints
In the eye of the storm is the hospital of Larnaca where, after the three complaints concerning inadequate care and deaths of patients, there is turmoil. Yesterday, an emergency meeting was held at the hospital under the executive director of the State Health Services Organization, during which, as we are informed, the professionals asked for the protection of the Organization.
The Pancyprian Guild of Government Doctors was also strong in its positions, which first called for the investigation of the complaints and then for the responsibilities to be attributed "if and when of course they are identified".
Intervention by the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations which, commenting on the three different complaints, requested the appointment of an independent investigator in order to investigate in general "the conditions of hospitality and provision of health services in the hospital, but also in general the way in which it operates and is or is not staffed, in order to record what exactly is happening and where there are responsibilities, if they exist, they should be attributed."
This research, said Mr. Lambrianidis, "must be done without any delay at all so as not to further damage the trust of patients in the hospitals of OKYPY and especially in Larnaca, but OKYPY, for their part, must immediately implement control procedures and ensure that patients receive the services they need with respect and dignity".
The first complaint was made a fortnight ago by the family of a 42-year-old woman who died while in hospital after a routine surgery she had undergone.
The conclusion of the investigating officer for the specific case, as we are informed, has been delivered and is being studied by the legal department of OKYPY, while it will also be given to the Police, which is also investigating the case.
According to information from "F", some of the family's claims seem to be confirmed, but others could not be confirmed by what was put before the investigating officer.
The second complaint concerned inadequate care that led to the death of a 72-year-old woman and the third complaint saw the light of day only yesterday and concerned the circumstances under which a 91-year-old man died.
We demand measures to protect the GHS, says OSAK
Of particular concern are what was recorded in the last month by the Patients' Rights Observatory of the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations.
A relevant announcement states that as an organization that pioneered the fight for the implementation of the GHS, "we call on the HIO, the Ministry of Health and every service provider to protect the System".
Complaints about inadequate care, inadequate services and inappropriate behaviour by health professionals do not honour anyone; responsibility is collective. At the same time, however, uncontrolled attacks on hospitals and professionals, as well as drawing conclusions before the completion of investigations, or even before the formal submission of complaints, do not constitute good information practices.
What has been said and made public in recent days, combined with the 20 complaints recorded by the Observatory last month and concerning inadequate care in public and private sector hospitals, cannot go unnoticed.
In cases where complainants have given their consent, the Observatory has already contacted the competent bodies asking for answers. However, in several cases a full investigation is not possible, as citizens who report to the Observatory then state that they do not want an official investigation, giving various reasons.
The picture that has been formed in the last fortnight should put everyone, including OSAK, which declares itself present, on alert.
As the official body representing patients, we call on:
• All health service providers to put patients and their needs as an absolute priority.
• All providers to recognize that patients and their families are in a vulnerable position and that building a relationship of trust requires continuous and substantial effort.
• All citizens to submit their complaints officially and in writing to the competent bodies or to the OSAK Observatory and to provide their consent for a full investigation, so that responsibilities can be attributed where appropriate.
Above all, we call:
• The Health Insurance Organization, responsible not only for the quantity but primarily for the quality of the GHS services, to immediately proceed with all the necessary actions, either to correct distortions or to adopt new policies and practices, with the aim of protecting patients and the System itself.
• The Ministry of Health to essentially exercise its supervisory role, reminding that since the spring of 2025 the supervision of the GHS has passed under its responsibility.
• All competent bodies for investigating complaints (HIO, OKYPY, Ministry of Health, Police) to proceed immediately to the examination of each case and to make the results public, ensuring transparency.
OSAK does not want to target health professionals. However, it requires the attribution of responsibilities wherever they arise.
We call on all health professionals, and especially doctors and nurses, to stand by the Federation in order to adopt practices that will protect both patients and themselves.
Complaints of inadequate care, mistreatment, especially of the elderly, and inappropriate behaviour have been recorded and investigated for many years. This fact highlights the need to change mentalities that cannot continue to exist.
Finally, OSAK's long-standing demand is the rapid completion of the bill that regulates the operation of all hospitals in Cyprus, public and private, with provisions that will ensure the level and quality of the services provided.
It is not possible, in a country that records one of the lowest rates of unmet health needs and implements a system that can ensure universal access to health services, that the protection and control mechanisms do not work effectively.
