Junior doctors in Cyprus’ public hospitals remain without any meaningful protection mechanism, according to an official response submitted to Parliament by Health Minister Michalis Damianou. He confirmed that trainees lack insurance coverage for medical negligence in cases where they are working while exhausted or beyond legal working limits - and that no system exists to record their actual working hours.
As of 1 October 2025, 250 junior and subspecialty doctors were serving in OKYPY hospitals, all placed in accredited clinics for training purposes. Despite forming a core pillar of the hospital workforce, OKYPY has no system for recording arrival or departure times for either junior or specialist doctors. As a result, the minister admits, “the average number of weekly working hours cannot be determined accurately.” He added that OKYPY had been asked to explore the creation of such a system - yet no measures have been implemented. The absence of hour-tracking means no authority can confirm whether trainees are working legally, exceeding limits, or operating while fatigued.
On-call duty based on verbal consent
The ministry’s only tool for monitoring working time is the number of on-call shifts each trainee performs. When this number appears excessive, officials contact the clinic director and the trainee to confirm their “consent” to the increased workload. However, there is no formal documentation, no system to record actual hours, and no independent verification of working conditions. Compliance with labour law - which sets maximum weekly hours - relies solely on a trainee verbally confirming they agree to work more.
Trainees are assigned according to the Greek Ministry of Health’s training framework, which requires a set number of mandatory on-call duties for several specialties. Their training is supervised by a specialist doctor. If a trainee feels exhausted, they themselves must notify the supervising specialist, who then decides whether they should continue working. Without hour-tracking or independent oversight, exhaustion remains unofficial and impossible to prove.
Compounding the problem, trainees are directly dependent on specialists and clinic directors for assessment, training and future career prospects. This power imbalance makes it extremely difficult for young doctors to report violations of their rights. The minister’s response, in effect, reveals that trainees are left without any real protection mechanism - beyond their own endurance and verbal consent.
To date, only one formal complaint has been recorded, relating to a period of summer leave when on-call duties surged.
Audit office raises the alarm
These gaps in trainee protection gain added significance in light of recent findings by the Audit Office regarding Larnaca General Hospital. Auditors documented cases where on-call specialists did not show up at the A&E Department, and no system existed to prove they had provided guidance or communicated with trainees who were left to manage cases alone. The findings underline the risks identified by the minister: trainees can end up on the front line without clear supervision, without recorded working hours and without insurance cover when working in an exhausted state.
In other words, the absence of oversight is not theoretical - it is reflected directly in on-call conditions, leaving junior doctors exposed both operationally and legally.