A total of 943,978 people are now registered on Gesy, Health Minister Popi Kanari said on Tuesday.

Kanari was speaking at a high-level meeting of the World Health Organisation to mark 15 years since the establishment of the Tallinn Charter and gave attendees the lowdown on Gesy’s four years of operation so far.

She explained that the Gesy national health scheme first came into operation on June 1, 2019, and described it as “one of the biggest social reforms ever implemented in the Republic of Cyprus.

“It is a fully functional, modern, human-centred health system, the main objective of which is to provide quality healthcare services to its beneficiaries,” she added.

Of the 943,978 registered beneficiaries, 806,900 have visited their general practitioners, 692,500 have received medication, and 611,200 have been referred to specialists.

Meanwhile, 502,300 have undergone laboratory tests, 299,900 have visited imaging centres, 286,500 people have visited dentists, and a total of 90,500 operations have been performed under the Gesy umbrella.

Kanari added that Gesy “needs supervision, corrections, and the introduction of quality criteria,” and said the system requires reforms through legislation.

“Cyprus is committed to responding to the changing needs of the population, taking into account ageing, environmental factors, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care,” she said.