Patients advocate office records 534 complaints and requests between May and August 2026

Nicosia, Cyprus. A total of 534 complaints and requests were submitted to the newly established patients advocate office between May and August 2026. The main concerns included quality of care, waiting times and the avoidance of unnecessary inconvenience.

More than 130 submissions per month

Patients’ ombudsman Marios Charalambides presented the figures on Saturday, marking the first anniversary of his appointment.

“People have started to make use of the mechanism,” he said.

Between May 1 and August 31, 2026, the office recorded 293 written and 241 verbal requests, equivalent to more than 130 complaints per month.

Charalambides described the mechanism as a “useful tool” but stressed that individual complaints did not provide a complete picture of the state of patients’ rights in the Republic. Most of the issues raised concerned “everyday matters”, he said.

Quality of care leads written complaints

Approximately one third of written complaints, 98 in total, concerned quality of care, according to Charalambides.

He said these complaints were not limited to medical errors but also involved negligence, service and care. Quality also encompassed the correct treatment and management of each case, professionalism, proper treatment and recognition of a person’s vulnerability when addressing any issue.

Long waiting times were the second most frequent category of complaints, followed by unnecessary suffering and pain.

Minor issues can become more serious

Charalambides said the data contained no particular surprises. Many complaints concerned minor issues that, if left unresolved, could develop into more serious problems.

“The issues raised concern waiting times, patient inconvenience, procedures, management and service,” he said.