Justice Ministry sends doctors’ sick leave cases to Cyprus Medical Association

Nicosia, Cyprus. The Justice Ministry has sent the Cyprus Medical Association a list of doctors who granted prison guards sick leave exceeding 42 days, for the Association to review the cases and address any issues identified.

Association confirms receipt of list

The letter was signed by Justice Ministry Director-General Yiorgos Pantelis following a meeting with Justice Minister Costas Fytiris.

Michalis Anastasiadis, chairman of the Association’s Ethics Committee, confirmed that the Association had received the letter and would study the data carefully.

He said the document does not identify prison guards by name, but lists cases involving doctors who granted Prisons Department staff sick leave beyond 42 days.

Cases involving up to 200 days of leave

In some cases, prison guards received up to 200 days of sick leave. The Association will examine why those cases were not referred to medical boards, Anastasiadis said.

He added that the Association had written to police about doctors under criminal investigation in connection with the matter but had not yet received a response.

The issue had previously been discussed at an institutional level during a meeting between the Association’s president and the Justice Minister. That meeting addressed plans to modernise procedures for other illnesses and the operation of medical boards.

Disciplinary procedure

After police were tasked with investigating possible criminal offences, the Association requested information on the progress of the investigation so it could begin its own disciplinary procedures if required.

Anastasiadis said the Association’s disciplinary council can impose a penalty only after the case has been investigated under the Association’s statutory procedures.

If a doctor is convicted, the Association appoints an investigating officer, whose findings are submitted to the Association’s council. The full council then decides whether to refer the case to the disciplinary council, which functions as a court and can impose penalties.

Audit Office findings

The Audit Office, in a report issued last March on prison guards’ sick leave, wrote to the Law Office identifying the possibility of criminal offences by doctors and staff.

The report recorded findings concerning sick certificates issued outside the proper procedure. A criminal investigation was subsequently launched involving two doctors and eight prison guards to determine whether criminal offences had been committed.