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A 2023 audit of Larnaca General Hospital revealed continuing chaos despite recent upgrades, with Emergency Department staff overworked, patient records incomplete, and tens of thousands of euros in reimbursements lost, lawmakers were told Thursday.
The Audit Office report, discussed by the Parliamentary Oversight Committee, found admissions forms often signed by trainee doctors instead of specialists and many patient records poorly documented. The lack of a computerized system means old forms are stacked in storage, and direct patient admissions sometimes go unrecorded.
The audit also uncovered €67,000 in unsubmitted claims to the Health Insurance Organization, with no mechanism in place to ensure payments, a problem that may affect other hospitals, auditors warned.
Doctors and nurses described punishing conditions in the ED, with staff logging 120 overtime shifts since early September. They called for more personnel, including seven additional nurses, and criticized the slow rollout of new procedures and manuals. Union leaders also blasted outdated kitchens, pharmacy staff shortages, and bureaucratic confusion over patient forms.
Lawmakers and hospital officials acknowledged progress, including a modernized ED and digitization of records, but said staffing shortages, administrative delays, and outdated hospital infrastructure continue to hamper patient care.
“It is unjustifiable that after all these years we do not have a computerized patient system, so each patient has their own record,” said DIKO MP Zacharias Koulias.
