Out-of-Hours Doctors and Night Pharmacies in Cyprus: Where to Go at Weekends and on Public Holidays

Feeling ill on a Saturday night or a public holiday in Cyprus? If it is life-threatening, call 112 or go to the nearest 24-hour A&E at a public general hospital. If it is urgent but not an emergency, GESY members can book the weekend and holiday on-call GP for their district, and the duty pharmacy is found by calling 11892.

Below we explain how to choose between 112, A&E, the on-call GP and a pharmacy, list the A&E departments in every district, and show how night and holiday pharmacies work. For the general safety basics, see our health and safety tips for life in Cyprus.

Should you call 112, go to A&E, see a GP or ask a pharmacist?

This follows the guidance of the State Health Services Organisation (OKYPY), which runs the public hospitals. Its A&E nurses sort patients on a five-level severity scale: the two most serious levels are seen at once, and people with non-urgent problems are told to see their personal doctor and wait until everyone more urgent has been treated. Going to A&E with a sore throat on a busy Sunday can mean hours of waiting.

As well as 112, OKYPY lists 22 887171 as its ambulance and emergency number. When you call, have ready the exact location, a phone number, what has happened and how many people are hurt.

How does the GESY on-call GP service work at weekends?

GESY, the General Healthcare System, runs an on-call service of personal doctors for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Here is how it works:

1. Check the on-call number for your district on gesy.org.cy. The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) publishes the lists there and on its official social media, and updates them regularly. If you cannot find it, call the GESY helpline on 17000 (+357 22 017000 from abroad).
2. Call during service hours. Reported hours have been 11:00 to 17:00, with the phone line opening half an hour earlier at 10:30. Check the current list, as hours have changed since the service started.
3. A doctor or call handler assesses your problem by phone.
4. If you need to be seen, you get an appointment the same day, within service hours. The service works by appointment only: do not just turn up at the clinic.

It is meant for adults and children who are GESY beneficiaries with an urgent problem: sudden worrying symptoms, sudden intense pain, a sharp deterioration in a serious chronic illness, or high fever with other symptoms. It is not for repeat prescriptions, referrals, problems you have had for a while, or because you could not find time to see your own doctor during the week.

If you are not in GESY (for example a visitor, or a resident on a pink slip with private insurance), call your insurer's helpline first to ask where to go and what is covered. Private hospitals with a 24-hour casualty department see paying patients at any hour, and most hotels can arrange for a doctor on request.

Which hospitals have 24-hour A&E in each district?

Every public general hospital has an Accident and Emergency Department (in Greek ΤΑΕΠ, "TAEP") open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. OKYPY also runs 24-hour A&E at its two rural hospitals in Troodos (Kyperounta) and Polis Chrysochous.

Larnaca General's new, larger A&E department was due to open in September 2025. Since 2025 the Health Ministry has also piloted "fast-track" clinics inside some A&Es, staffed by a doctor and a nurse, to see low-risk patients separately and cut waiting times: Nicosia and Paphos from spring 2025, Larnaca at weekends and a summer-only clinic in Famagusta. You do not choose these yourself; the triage nurse sends you there if your case fits.

Under GESY, an A&E visit carries a small co-payment that counts towards your annual cap; our GESY guide lists the current charges.

Which private hospitals have a 24-hour emergency department?

Three private A&E departments are contracted to GESY, so beneficiaries are treated there on the same terms as at a public hospital. Some other private hospitals run a 24-hour casualty department for paying or privately insured patients.

In Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta, the only A&Es in GESY are the public ones. A private casualty department outside GESY will bill you, so if you have no private insurance, ask about the price before treatment, and phone ahead if you can to check a doctor is available. For a fuller comparison of private hospitals, see our guide to private hospitals and clinics in Cyprus.

Where do you take a child in an emergency?

In Nicosia, a dedicated children's A&E for ages 0 to 16 has operated at Nicosia General Hospital since January 2023, with paediatricians on duty. Children who need to stay in hospital are transferred to the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital, the island's mother and child hospital, with neonatal and paediatric intensive care. A new paediatric emergency department is being built at Makarios; in September 2026 OKYPY said the works were still continuing, with no opening date given.

Outside Nicosia, take children to the A&E of your district's general hospital. For a sick child at the weekend who is not an emergency, the GESY on-call service covers children too.

How do you find a night or holiday pharmacy?

Pharmacies, marked with a green cross, take turns to stay open late, at night, at weekends and on public holidays. To find tonight's duty pharmacy:

• Call 11892, the island-wide directory line.
• Or call the recorded line for your district, which has a message in English:

Duty lists are also printed in the daily papers and published online.

Opening hours. As confirmed by the Cyprus Pharmaceutical Association in July 2026, duty pharmacies stay open until 23:00. After that, the pharmacist on duty is on call and can get to the pharmacy within about ten minutes, but only for real emergencies, such as someone just discharged from A&E or holding an urgent prescription. If your doctor gave you a prescription earlier in the day, fill it during normal hours. In July 2026 patients' groups complained that some duty pharmacists did not answer after 23:00; the Pharmaceutical Services said the number of duty pharmacies per area would be discussed by the Pharmacy Board and backed a future app showing duty pharmacies, with no launch date yet. If a duty pharmacist cannot be reached, you can complain to the Cyprus Pharmaceutical Association or the Ministry of Health's Pharmaceutical Services.

Normal pharmacy hours vary with the season, with a midday break on most days and afternoon closing on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so plan repeat prescriptions before a long weekend.

What should you bring?

• GESY beneficiaries: your ID card or ARC (residence permit) number, so the hospital or doctor can find you on the system.
• EU visitors: your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which gives access to necessary state emergency care on reduced or local terms, plus travel insurance.
• Everyone else: your private or travel insurance policy and its 24-hour helpline number, plus a bank card.
• A list of your regular medicines and allergies, and any recent test results or discharge letters.
• A phone charger: waits can be long.

Do doctors and pharmacists speak English?

Most doctors in Cyprus speak English, and hospital and pharmacy staff are used to foreign patients, especially in Limassol and Paphos. Recorded pharmacy lines include English. A few Greek words help with signs and rotas: farmakeio (pharmacy), efimerevon (on duty), TAEP (A&E) and giatros (doctor). If you are not confident explaining symptoms, ask a Greek-speaking friend to join the call on speaker.

We could not find an official out-of-hours dental service. Ask your own dentist when you register whether they keep an emergency number, and go to A&E for swelling that affects breathing or swallowing, or after a serious facial injury.

What to do next

1. Save 112, 22 887171, 17000, 11892 and your district's pharmacy line in your phone today.
2. Make sure you are registered with a GESY personal doctor; our GESY guide explains how.
3. If you are not in GESY, check what your policy covers out of hours; see health insurance for a residence permit.
4. Before winter, book your flu jab through your personal doctor: see our flu vaccine guide.