Cyprus ranks second globally on healthcare access satisfaction, survey finds

Local ghshealthsurveyTop News Cyprus ranks second globally on healthcare access satisfaction, survey finds Gesy Spiti 1 Relevant News Cyprus ranks second globally on healthcare access satisfaction, survey finds 17 September 2026 Key prosecution witness completes lengthy testimony in Phedonos rape trial 17 September 2026 Civil Registry and Children’s Commissioner drove ID parent-name removal, minister says 17 September 2026 Marilena Panayi 17 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus ranks second, behind only Switzerland, on an international index measuring satisfaction with the availability of healthcare services, according to a nationwide survey of General Health System (GHS) beneficiaries. Nearly one in three respondents, however, said they face difficulties when trying to access the care they need. The survey, carried out by IMR/University of Nicosia between September 8 and 14, 2026, questioned a representative sample of 1,000 GHS beneficiaries. Results were presented by IMR/University of Nicosia founder and managing director Christina Kokkalou at the 9th Cyprus Healthcare Conference. The Cypriot findings were analysed against indicators from the OECD’s international PaRIS survey, which covered 19 countries and more than 107,000 patients; the Cyprus survey is a standalone measurement, with selected results compared to the equivalent international benchmarks. On the index measuring satisfaction with the availability of health services, Cyprus recorded 75%, placing it second after Switzerland’s 85%, and significantly above the 19-country average of 64%. Cyprus also scored above the international average on the reliability index, recording 66%. Around seven in ten citizens said they feel confident they will be able to access a health service when they need one, a confidence that is stronger among older age groups. The survey points to a broader shift in public attitudes over the past decade. In 2014, only 57% of citizens believed the GHS would succeed in functioning at all. Two years later, in 2016, 72% said they were dissatisfied with the healthcare system then in place. Today, seven years after the GHS was introduced, 75% still say they are optimistic about the system, despite acknowledging weaknesses and problems in its day-to-day operation. Citizens no longer question the system’s usefulness or necessity, the survey suggests, but are evaluating it more strictly and demanding more from it. Usage figures show how embedded the GHS has become in daily life. Over the past two years, 95% of beneficiaries visited a personal doctor and 86% visited a specialist; 83% received medication and 81% underwent laboratory tests. Sixty-four per cent visited a dentist and 50% used another healthcare professional’s services; around one in four received inpatient care, while 6% used rehabilitation services. Satisfaction with personal doctors was particularly high, with 88% of respondents saying they were satisfied with the quality of care received. Despite this largely positive picture, access remains a challenge, particularly for specific specialities. Thirty-one per cent of beneficiaries, almost one in three, said they face difficulties trying to get the care they need, a problem more pronounced among women and younger citizens. A separate finding concerns those who ultimately could not obtain a service at all: 13% said that, in the past 12 months, they needed a test or treatment they were unable to secure. The most common reasons were a lack of available appointments, long waiting times and the test or service not being covered by the GHS; a lack of an available specialist and the absence of a provider in the area were cited less often. On waiting times specifically, 60% of citizens said they were very or fairly satisfied with the time it took to see a specialist, while the remaining 40% expressed dissatisfaction. Almost six in ten managed to secure an appointment in under a month; 26% waited between one and three months, and 15% waited more than three months, with significant variation by specialty. Waiting lists remain a problem, the survey found, but the picture has improved: in 2026, the share of respondents citing waiting lists as the system’s main weakness fell by 15 percentage points, and for the first time, waiting lists are no longer the top problem beneficiaries identify. The leading weakness identified is now the lack of coverage for specific tests, cited by 47%, though this too improved, falling by three percentage points. Waiting lists follow at 42%, the need to obtain a referral at 40%, and the non-participation of certain providers in the system at 26%. This pattern suggests that public demand is shifting from the system’s mere existence towards an expansion of the services it covers and easier access to them. Broader satisfaction indicators have softened somewhat. Eighty per cent still say the GHS has improved their quality of life, a high figure but down from 88% in 2025 and 93% in 2024. Similarly, 72% say the GHS has improved the services available to them, compared with 86% in 2025 and 92% in 2024. This decline is not read as rejection of the system, the survey found; rather, citizens now regard access to healthcare as an established right, hold higher expectations, and judge their day-to-day experience more strictly. The most commonly cited benefit of the GHS is financial savings, recognised by 75% of respondents, followed by a greater choice of providers, improved quality and shorter waiting times. Beneficiaries are not calling for a change in the GHS’s underlying philosophy, but for improvements to how it operates. The top priority, cited by 55%, is shorter waiting times, followed by coverage for more tests and treatments at 46%. Twenty-eight per cent want stronger public hospitals and emergency departments, 24% want stricter limits on abuse and waste, and 21% want faster access to innovative medicines. Nineteen per cent list increasing the number of doctors and nurses as a priority. 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