For more than four months now, a letter from the Legal Service has been in the office of the Minister of Health, Michalis Hadjipandelas, in relation to the amendment of the law on Doctors. The Legal Service requests clarifications and additional data, but has not received any response so far. The ministry was asked to request the new information from the Pancyprian Medical Association, something that has not been done so far, with the hands of the Legal Service tied. The request of the Legal Service has been in the hands of the minister since the end of December 2021 and, according to information, the letter to the PIS will be sent today, following a relevant report by “P” published last Saturday. All this while doctors continue to practice their profession, who are being prosecuted or have already been convicted of criminal offenses, since no one can take their leave, even temporarily.
From in 2021
As “P” is able to know, after the meetings last August, at the end of the month, the PIS submitted to the Ministry of Health its suggestions for the amendments that should be made based on the existing legislation. Among the suggestions of the PIS is the temporary suspension of the license to practice through a court for specific offenses, with a unilateral application that will be submitted by the Association, after a written notification from the Police for the offenses investigated against a doctor. The court will be able to issue the decree and then hear the doctor. This proposal, as well as a number of other proposals, have been submitted since the end of August to the Ministry of Health, which sent the data to the Legal Service in mid-November, specifically on the 15th of the month. A day later, as “P” is informed, the case was assigned to a legal officer, in order to determine whether it is possible to make changes in the legislation governing the PIS. The official, after studying the information at his disposal, considered that he could not express a detailed opinion, asking in a letter to the Ministry of Health, and specifically to the minister himself, for clarifications. This letter has been in the office of Mr. Hadjipandelas since December 23, 2021. As “P” is able to know, a new letter has been prepared by the ministry to be sent to the PIS, so that the Association is informed about what it is asking the Legal Service. The letter was prepared but remained in the drawer of the minister, from which it will come out today, as a well-informed source told “P”. Four months after the request of the Legal Service was sent and almost a year after the start of the discussion for changes in the legislation that governs the PIS.
No response
The whole issue emerged at the beginning of last August, when on the 6th of the month the news became known that a specialist doctor was issuing fake vaccination certificates. Apart from the specialist doctor, who allegedly issued 7 fake vaccination certificates, in the last year the complaints against doctors have increased, a fact that is directly related to their activity in GESS and the fact that patients have access to the file of their beneficiaries. At a time when the OAY has already eliminated at least 10 providers, it makes sense that almost none of them has been imposed any punishment by the PIS disciplinary council. For some, no relevant complaints have been made, which means that the disciplinary body can not proceed with the investigation of the cases. However, it seems that the procedures in this council are proceeding at an extremely slow pace. “P” has secured, so far, two complaints from citizens, who filed their complaint 1 year ago and 8 months each, and to date have not received any response. They do not even know if their complaint has been dealt with, if it needs further investigation or if more information is needed. At the same time, it is worth mentioning again that there is nowhere the number of doctors who were convicted by the disciplinary body of the PIS, nor the sentences imposed on them, as, as it was said in Saturday's report, the data are there but not in digital form./p>
