The understaffing of the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO), which runs the national health scheme (Gesy) and the abuse of the health system by certain providers are the main problems faced by the organisation, chairman of its staffing committee Kyriakos Droushiotis said on Friday.

Droushiotis said positions approved in 2024 were an important step in staffing, however passing those included in the 2025 budget would be decisive.

The implementation of Gesy happened before it was properly ready, Droushiotis told the Cyprus News Agency, which has led to problems.

He gave the medical audit as an example, saying it should be an integral part of Gesy, however the system was not even close to having it yet.

Droushiotis also said the steep rise in the system’s budget, which has nearly doubled since 2020, as well as broadening the reach of Gesy, resulted in serious staffing problems and some services not having operated at all.

He added that pressing needs and the lack of experience did not leave room to address staffing or take measures to correct distortions and abuses, which Droushiotis said in some cases were particularly challenging.

“Filling many gaps in the system could save several millions” of euros, he said.

Abuse of the system by certain providers, who exploit those gaps, is reaching challenging levels, Droushiotis said, adding that penalties should be stricter.

He said it was not just some medical providers draining the system, but patients as well, who were burdening Gesy with significant bills totalling many millions of euros.