A patient advocacy group which has brought questions before parliament on the verification of doctors’ expertise, came under attack from the head of the Cyprus Medical Association (Pis) on Friday.
The group, Aspida, is seeking an investigation into what it claims are serious omissions in state and medical council procedures for vetting doctors’ qualifications and skills.
But Pis chairman Angelos Stylianou raised eyebrows when he referred to Aspida’ Eleonora Mavromati as “a housewife who should go back to minding her own business.”
“What place does a housewife have in such matters?” Stylianou asked.
Trying to retract, Stylianou said it was intended to convey that patients cannot have a role on a medical council, not that they should not be interested in health matters.
Mavromati retorted that it did not matter to her what Stylianou thought of her, but that he should think prior to speaking.
Aspida claims there were 180 cases of doctors that are suspect and require investigation, including two doctors from Belarus who were found to be practicing with fake degrees and have yet to be brought to justice.
“Their specialisation was merely revoked, without any sentence imposed,” Aspida’s Eleonora Mavromati said on CyBC radio.
Speaking on the same programme, Stylianou disputed the number of suspect cases saying only 50, possibly, valid cases exist.
However, he said, the council had sought advice from legal services on handling these and they were cases from before a 2010 change in legislation requiring stricter verification of doctor’s qualifications.
“You can’t require an 80-year-old doctor who has been practicing for years to take an exam,” Stylianou maintained.
According to Aspida there is evidence of widespread lack of oversight concerning doctors with degrees from third countries.
Among the issues, are the fact that, though doctors are required by law to have their degrees certified as part of registration, sit state exams and, if required, take further training, this is not done.
The improper procedures are in breach of patient rights and endanger patients’ health, the group claims.
Mavromati said the issue has been taken up in concert with the patients association Osak.
Head of Osak, Marios Kouloumas agreed that Aspida’s claims had been somewhat dismissed by Pis, saying his organisation has seen of a letter proving the council was attempting to sideline the advocate group.
The letter in question was in response to a request by Aspida for a meeting to discuss the vetting of physicians. The council’s response stated that this could not happen because it “infringed on the protection of personal data.”.
Due to the way the medical council operates, it cannot fulfil its raison d’etre, Mavromati argued, and the safeguarding of patients’ rights is at the mercy of doctors alone.
“There are many illegal registrations,” Mavromati said. “We have evidence of doctors being registered without adhering to the law’s stipulations, in possession of fewer training hours than required, and of not presenting the necessary certificates to prove their specialisation”.
In addition, Mavromati noted that the current composition of the medical council was problematic.
The council is made up of seven members appointed by Pis and the health ministry. “This gives the doctors an inordinate amount of clout,” Mavromati said, so that patients’ interests are not represented.
Aspida, with the backing of Greens MPs Marinos Moushoutas and Charalambos Theopemptou, have submitted a joint proposal for legal amendments before the House health committee.