Changes in the legislation in order for the Pancyprian Medical Association (PIS) to suspend the license of a doctor, before he is convicted by a criminal court, decided an extraordinary meeting held on Monday in the Legal Service, on the occasion of the complaints for issuing fake certificates .
The meeting was attended by the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General, the Minister of Health, the leadership of the Police and the Board of Directors of the PIS.
In his statements after the meeting, the Attorney General George Savvidis said that the meeting was convened immediately due to the very serious issues that arose. He stressed, however, that at this stage these are complaints and information and reiterated that everyone is innocent until proven guilty by the competent court.
He also said that after a constructive discussion, they concluded that in some places a change in the legislation is needed in order to deal more strictly with cases of disciplinary procedures of doctors. He added that the PIS through their legal advisor will prepare some suggestions that will be sent to the Ministry of Health, which will properly examine them and formulate a policy. He further added that the Legal Service would conduct a technical inspection before proceeding with the voting process.
Mr. Savvidis said that all the cases for which a complaint was made were discussed with the leadership of the Police and the Assistant Attorney General and directions were given where and where the Police is needed.
He also stressed the importance of having proper vaccination certificates, because, as he said, very serious problems are created if certificates issued do not correspond to reality and appealed if there are complaints to the Police so that the necessary investigation can be done.
Asked about the possible penalties that may be imposed on the cases under investigation, Mr. Savvidis said that if there are criminal records and what offenses they may include will depend on the course of the investigation. He said that a detention order has already been issued for one case, which refers to some offenses that are being examined, however, as he said, the final decision on which offenses will be taken to court will depend on the Legal Service and the Police, depending on the kind of testimony that will emerge.
"There are quite serious penalties. "What we discussed today on a larger scale and where some weakness was found, if you will, is the possibility for the PIS to take disciplinary measures for possible unethical behavior of doctors before their sentencing," he said.
The PIS stated that he wished that a doctor could be brought to his disciplinary proceedings before being convicted by a criminal court.
At the same time, the Legal Service noted that it will consider what other measures it can take in order to limit the public exposure in cases where it is judged that a doctor has been proven to have acted in a way that is not in line with professional ethics.
Asked whether cases of citizens approaching doctors for the issuance of a false certificate will be reported, the Attorney General said that both the one who offers and the one who receives the money are criminally responsible and if a doctor testifies that an individual approached him to offers money for a certificate that does not correspond to reality, then the Police will investigate the facts of this case.
The Minister of Health, Michalis Hatzipandelas, stated that the goal of the Ministry is to see the bill, and to examine what penalties are provided for doctors who are illegal. He added that the legislation should be changed in order to impose stricter penalties in cooperation with the PIS, the Police and the Attorney General.
He thanked the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General for their continued support in pandemic matters.
Answering questions, Police Chief Stelios Papatheodorou said that the meeting was attended by the TAE directors of the three services involved who are investigating some information in relation to cases of doctors who allegedly have not been vaccinated and have been given a vaccination certificate.
"Our aim is to objectively investigate these cases so that it becomes clear whether these crimes have actually been committed and if so, to substantiate and gather the evidence needed to bring the suspects to justice," he said.
He added that a total of five cases are being investigated by the Police, one of which is official and concerns a doctor who is in custody and the other is some information that criminal files have begun to be formed for their investigation. There are two cases in Limassol, two in Paphos and one in Larnaca.
Answering another question, he said that there is no issue of further arrests at this stage since, the cases are still in the very early stages.
The Secretary of the Pancyprian Medical Association and chairman of the Ethics Committee of the PIS, Dr. Michalis Anastasiadis stated that during the meeting were discussed in depth all possible measures or regulations that could occur in the legislation and which could strengthen the role and the work of all in the effort to combat these phenomena.