Cyprus prisons have big problems. Many staff members take too much sick leave. A new report from the Audit Office shows this. The office found that the way absences are checked is not good. This causes problems with staff numbers. It also affects how the prisons work.
Many prison workers took many sick days recently. In 2022, 27% of staff had over 42 sick days. This number went down a little in 2023 to 23%. However, it is still very high. In 2024, 17% of staff already had more than 42 sick days. This shows the problem continues. Because of these long absences, there are not enough staff. This stops daily work and security.
The Audit Office looked closely at medical papers. They found problems with checking these papers. One worker took over 200 sick days in one year. This person gave 111 medical notes. Most notes were from only two doctors. This is strange because the worker did not visit the health system much. This suggests the sick notes might not be real.
Another check looked at 17 prison guards. Eight of them took between 43 and 229 sick days per year. These guards also used notes from the same few doctors. The limit for sick days is 42 per year. If staff take more, services are affected. In the last two years, 44 employees took more than 42 sick days. Also, 34 staff members did this for three years in a row.
The system for checking sick leave is not strong. Staff often give medical papers late. Therefore, the Prisons Department cannot check them quickly. Some employees did not go to medical checks. They did not have any problems for this. This makes the system weak. Reviews of sick leave happen too late. It is hard to check if the health problems were real. Many cases are still waiting for decisions. This shows the checking process takes a long time.
These problems put a lot of pressure on the staff who are working. The prisons are less safe because of this. The system for checking sick leave needs to change. The authorities must act quickly. They need to make things fair and clear again.