Waiting times for specialist doctors in Cyprus have grown significantly longer over the past year, forcing some patients to endure delays stretching well into late 2025, reports showed on Monday.

Despite an increase in the number of doctors across most specialties, many patients continue to face prolonged delays, according to a survey conducted by Politis in January 2023 and December 2024.

Endocrinologists and rheumatologists recorded the longest waiting times, with patients waiting up to 10 months, compared to six and five months, respectively, in January 2023. Allergy specialists also have a 10-month delay, unchanged from last year.

Among the busiest specialists are urologists for whom the waiting time remains approximately eight months, and paediatric cardiologists for whom the waiting period remains unchanged at seven months, even though the number of specialists doubled to six.

Gastroenterologists follow close behind, requiring their patients to wait up to seven months, compared to four months last year. Meanwhile, dermatologists have seen their waiting times triple, jumping from two months in early 2023 to six months in December 2024.

Neurosurgeons and neurologists have seen significant increases in their waiting lists, with delays doubling to five months for neurosurgeons and four months for neurologists, despite the addition of six more neurosurgeons.

Furthermore, waiting times for nephrologists have increased slightly over the past year, rising from three months in January 2023 to four months in December 2024. Similarly, cardiologists now require patients to wait up to three months, compared to the previous range of two to three months.

Haematology specialists have also seen a minor increase in delays, with waiting times now reaching approximately two months. Orthopaedics, however, has remained steady, with patients continuing to face a consistent three-month wait during both periods.

General surgeons were the only exception, experiencing a slight reduction in waiting times from three to four months down to two to three months, despite a decrease in the number of specialists responding to Politis’ survey.

According to the data available, most specialties saw an increase in the number of responding doctors, except from nephrologists, pneumologists and general surgeons.