Doctors of national health scheme (Gesy) who are on holiday outside Cyprus and Greece cannot currently access the Gesy website or portals, the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO), which manages implementation of Gesy, said on Tuesday.

Access to Gesy services is limited only to users within Cyprus and Greece as part of security measures, it said in a text sent out to users.

This restriction has caused difficulties for doctors abroad who need to assist patients in Cyprus urgently. They have been unable to use the system remotely when needed.

HIO said it is working hard to restore access from abroad.

However, the message sent out was misunderstood by both users and healthcare providers, who thought it signalled a cyberattack. This caused a wave of calls to the HIO and media for explanations.

HIO said the restriction on accessing the Gesy website from outside Cyprus and Greece has been in place for some time as a preventive security measure.

It confirmed that no cyberattack has taken place.

The HIO said it plans to lift this access restriction by early September, allowing those overseas to connect to the system once again.