Cyprus: Nurse Charged for Services Provided by Others

A nurse has been removed from the General Healthcare System (GHS) following complaints and preliminary findings by the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) that they were being compensated for services purportedly provided to beneficiaries, while in reality, other individuals were serving them.

According to a report in the newspaper «Phileleftheros», the HIO received complaints from GHS beneficiaries stating that the nurse in question only visited them once or twice, and subsequently, other individuals took over their home nursing care.

The HIO found, through the nurse's entries in the GHS software, that they were recording a disproportionately large number of visits. After an audit, it was discovered that the nurse initially visited the patients and then informed them that other individuals would take over. The reimbursement requests were only registered by the nurse.

The HIO has suspended the nurse's contract and is conducting an investigation to determine whether the individuals visiting the patients were nurses and whether it was legal for them to provide services as independent professionals.