Audit Office finds bodies stored for 1,040 days at Paphos hospital mortuary

Local deathhealthHospitalPaphosTop News Audit Office finds bodies stored for 1,040 days at Paphos hospital mortuary Paphos Hospital Kept Bodies In Mortuary Fridge For Up To 1,040 Days Relevant News Audit Office finds bodies stored for 1,040 days at Paphos hospital mortuary 16 September 2026 Hourly-paid state workers suspend Thursday strike after president talks 16 September 2026 Culture ministry staff walk out, citing hostile work environment (photos) 16 September 2026 Marilena Panayi 16 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Bodies were kept for months, and in some cases years, in the mortuary refrigeration unit at Paphos General Hospital, according to a special report by Cyprus’s Audit Office issued after a serious refrigeration system failure in May 2026. A chart accompanying the report recorded the storage duration of five bodies in the refrigeration unit as 1,040, 533, 234, 172 and 39 days respectively. The duration for a sixth body could not be calculated because its date of death was unknown. The report notes that, under Human Tissue Authority guidelines, the appropriate storage period in a refrigeration unit is around 30 days. It found that the mortuary does not apply these international standards, with consequences for both the preservation of the bodies and their dignified treatment. In its response, the Ministry of Health said it proceeds with burying unclaimed dead once a post-mortem and inquest have been carried out, after sufficient time has passed and the necessary documents and burial orders have been secured from the coroner. Identification and traceability gaps When the fault was discovered, 11 bodies were being stored at the mortuary — four in freezer storage and seven in refrigeration. Six of the seven were transferred to Limassol General Hospital, while burial of the seventh was arranged by relatives. The seventh body’s details had been included on the collection and transfer form despite ultimately not being moved. When the Audit Office requested the corresponding form, it was sent the same document, unsigned by a recipient and bearing a handwritten correction with no date or signature. The Audit Office said it could not confirm when the error was identified and corrected, and found gaps in the mechanisms for tracking and verifying bodies. The State Health Services Organisation (SHSO) said the case removed from the form concerned a miscarried foetus that had already been released for burial, and confirmed the document had been corrected. It also said the timely handover of the unclaimed-bodies file did not take place following the mortuary assistant’s departure in May 2026. Alarm system out of operation The mortuary kept no systematic temperature log and had no central register of faults, repairs or maintenance. The fault was detected through a strong odour in the hospital rather than a technical alert. Although the maintenance contract provided for an audible and visual alarm for temperature deviations, further inspection found the installed system was in an unusable state. A new alarm system, installed by a different company from the original contractor, was put in place on June 5, 2026. The Audit Office also could not confirm that maintenance had been carried out at the frequency set out in the contract, recording poor performance by the contractor and inadequate monitoring by SHSO. SHSO said the Department of Electromechanical Services coordinated the maintenance contract and that it bears no responsibility, at this stage, for maintaining the mortuary’s equipment, though it expects to take this over once the contract in question ends. The Ministry of Health, however, said responsibility for operating and managing public hospitals rests with SHSO under the 2017 law establishing the organisation, and noted that the relevant contracts, including the fridge maintenance contract, had already been transferred from the Ministry to SHSO, with work under way to resolve the facilities’ ownership status. The Audit Office’s position is that, regardless of which body held maintenance responsibility, Paphos General Hospital, as the user of critical hospital equipment, should have had proper mechanisms in place to monitor its condition and report faults immediately. Staffing gap and unclear responsibilities Until May 2026, a single mortuary assistant was responsible for transporting bodies, monitoring temperature, keeping records and overseeing cleanliness. After his transfer to Nicosia, no replacement was appointed and no formal handover of duties took place. Some of the body-transport duties were taken on by porters from the Accident and Emergency Department, who, according to the report, lacked specialised training or experience in mortuary management. The Ministry of Health clarified that no Paphos Mortuary Assistant post exists under the Forensic Medicine Service, and that the assistant referred to had been temporarily transferred to Paphos General Hospital under the mobility scheme for hourly-paid government staff before being recalled to Nicosia, the post he had originally been hired for, due to service needs. SHSO acknowledged that the assistant’s departure created an operational gap in the mortuary’s functioning, and said it was examining the creation of dedicated posts and incorporating the relevant duties into staff service plans. It also agreed on the need to clarify responsibilities, saying completion of a usage-rights agreement was necessary to fully define each party’s responsibilities for the facilities’ use, operation and management. No plan for equipment failure The Audit Office found no business continuity plan setting out the actions, responsible persons and alternative facilities to be used in the event of a cooling system failure, noting that similar faults had occurred in the past. SHSO said that, despite the absence of a predetermined plan, the Limassol-Paphos region’s management acted immediately, securing alternative facilities at Limassol hospital for the temporary transfer of bodies. Warnings dating back to 2023 The report notes the problems were not unknown to the relevant authorities. Paphos General Hospital staff had submitted complaints since 2023 about strong decomposition odours affecting nearby work areas, overcrowding of bodies and a lack of cleanliness. The Audit Office said that despite repeated warnings from staff to SHSO management, no corrective measures were taken. SHSO said it was treating the findings and recommendations with due seriousness, and had already carried out or scheduled the installation of alarm systems, the creation of a central equipment register, the drafting of a business continuity plan, and a contract for cleaning and disinfecting mortuaries. Audit Office recommendations The Audit Office is calling for bodies to be stored in line with international standards, proper maintenance of the automatic temperature-monitoring system, a central register of faults, maintenance and repairs for critical equipment, an approved written emergency plan, and completion of an agreement between the Ministry of Health and SHSO clearly defining responsibility for operating and managing mortuaries. Summing up, the Auditor General said the overall picture does not point to an isolated technical incident, but to longstanding weaknesses in management, oversight, staffing and maintenance, along with unclear lines of responsibility. The Audit Office also noted that during a surprise inspection on May 29, 2026, physical access to the mortuary was not possible, as disinfection of the premises was under way at the time. According to the report, its findings were based on interviews with staff from Paphos hospital, the Ministry of Health, SHSO and the Department of Electromechanical Services, as well as documents, records and correspondence obtained during the audit. 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