Sixteen doctors file complaints against colleague and condemn Okypy

The health ministry confirmed on Thursday that investigations are underway following complaints by a multitude of doctors against a colleague for intimidation, inappropriate behaviour and failure to respond to emergency calls within his field.

Sixteen doctors from the Limassol emergency department submitted a written complaint to the state health services (Okypy) in November of last year.

The organisation investigated the case and sent its findings to the health ministry for further action, as the doctor is a civil servant on secondment to Okypy.

According to the report, the doctor has refused to respond to colleagues’ emergency calls over the past three months.

More recent complaints, submitted in November 2025 by colleagues within the same clinic, will be investigated by the management of Limassol general hospital.

The situation has been described by doctors in the department as “disorderly” due to the tension among staff.

State doctor’s union president Sotiris Koumas called for “urgent answers from the national health service.”

“They accuse us doctors of covering up for each other and of hiding things,” Koumas said.

“We do not cover up. However, when doctors file these complaints, they expect to be informed or even to be punished for speaking out, if such an issue arises. We observe the silence of Okypy and demand information and answers.”

Koumas described the complaints as “particularly serious” and added that the actions of the doctors who filed them “highlight the work of the majority of government doctors.”

He emphasised that “such behaviours, if what is reported actually proves to be true, cannot and should not be generalised.”

State doctors’ union Pasyki has criticised Okypy for failing to address repeated complaints over the years.

The union’s board of directors said the administration bears serious responsibility for allowing the situation to escalate.

“When written, signed and repeated complaints are filed for years and the situation continues to worsen without substantial intervention, it can no longer be considered an isolated incident,” the statement said.

“This is clearly a failure of management, which directly and exclusively burdens Okypy.”

The union added that the national health service has “a very serious and direct responsibility,” warning that its inability to identify and intervene in serious dysfunctions within public hospitals “irreparably exposes the system and endangers patient safety.”

“A full and objective investigation is required,” the statement said.

“However, this can no longer be used as an alibi for inaction and delays.”

Pasyki highlighted that the complaints come from doctors within the public health system, which it said, “is a slap in the face to Okypy administration and at the same time proves that the medical staff is trying to protect both patients and the dignity of the public system, precisely where the administration fails to do its duty.”

“Let’s finally say it clearly, when the administration does not intervene, it is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem,” Pasyki concluded.