Allegations surrounding on-call specialists at state hospitals being compensated for non-attendance have prompted a response from the state health services organisation (Okypy). Spokesman Charalambos Charilaou clarified the situation on Wednesday, indicating that the claims are misleading and require further context.
The comments follow a report from the Audit Office, which highlighted troubling practices at the Larnaca general hospital, where on-call doctors were reportedly paid up to €850 per shift without being present. Charilaou urged that the sample size and the specific days of the survey conducted must be taken into account, referring to data collected during a weekend in August 2023.
In an official reply included in the Audit Office report, Okypy CEO Kypros Stavrides mentioned that while the E&A documents are regularly scrutinised, the deduction of shift compensation for absent doctors has not been enforced due to opposition from trade unions. This has raised concerns about the accountability of on-call specialists.
Reports have indicated that similar issues are not confined to Larnaca; a 2024 Audit Office assessment also pointed to discrepancies at Nicosia general hospital. Charilaou noted that the inspection aimed to identify procedural and regulatory matters rather than directly assessing patient care.
During the Larnaca inspection, 48 cases were selected from the 453 patients who visited the emergency and accident unit. Of these, 25 patients were discharged without further mention in the report. The remaining 23 cases were overseen by five doctors, but the report revealed that many of the on-call specialists were not documented as having presented themselves, even when patient admissions were necessary.
Consequently, resident doctors were left to manage patient care, raising concerns about the quality of services rendered in the emergency unit. The report underscored that the absence of the specialists could jeopardise patient health, as they received substantial payments for shifts they did not fulfil.
Moreover, the report highlighted inadequacies in the management of patient documentation within the accident and emergency department, noting that records were stored in unsuitable conditions without a proper archiving system. Charilaou conceded that the current state of the storage area was unacceptable, emphasising the need for organisation and proper space management for patient archives.
As the situation develops, Okypy continues to face scrutiny over the practices of on-call specialists, urging a reevaluation of existing protocols to ensure the safety and quality of patient care in state hospitals.
