Greater checks on those taking sick leave, rather than blanket measures that make it more difficult to attain sick leave, should be implemented for government employees, the newly elected president of the federation of patients’ associations (Osak) Miltos Miltiadous said on Thursday.

Miltiadous, who was elected yesterday as head of Osak in an unopposed election, acknowledged that sick leave abuse was a real problem and that it was necessary to “improve the situation”, but argued changes should not negatively impact those who genuinely need assistance.

“What needs to be done is to increase oversight and strengthen the ability of supervisors to review these leave requests, so that abuse can be prevented,” Miltiadous said.

His comments follow Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas’ announcement on Monday that the government will be making structural changes to address sick leave abuse by civil servants.

Mousiouttas said that a small number of government employees “abuse” sick leave policies to remain effectively absent from their jobs for years.

However, Miltiadous cautioned that Cyprus frequently applies blanket solutions to issues, which ends up inadvertently impacting people who need support.

“The key issue is that people who are in need should not be affected,” he said.

Miltiadous, who was the secretary of Osak before the election, replaced Charalambos Papadopoulos as head of the federation following its annual general meeting. Papadopoulos will now become secretary.

The new president set his priorities as the continued advocacy for patients’ rights, the improvement of health services and increased patient participation in decision making. He reiterated his commitment to the federation’s principle “Nothing for us, without us.”

Some of the most significant achievements from Papadopoulos’ term include the successful creation of the patients’ ombudsman by the Council of Ministers and the creation of the National Cancer Institute.