The governor of the General hospital in Lamia has suspended all operations of the surgery departments due to shortage of anesthesiologists. With 3,500 surgery operations per year, the General Hospital of Lamia is one of the biggest in Central Greece next to the ones in Larissa and Volos.
According to a denouncement by one of the public hospital personnel, there are currently four anesthesiologists in the hospital and three of them suffered from health problems – two doctors had to undergo urgent operations, one, the director broke her leg in the hospital while on duty.
“On October 21st 2016, the hospital governor decided to suspend all surgeries,” while the director of the health ministry responsible for the area “appealed to the fourth anesthesiologist to be on 24-hour call for fourth consecutive day, in order to meet needs for urgent intubation and the evacuation of critically ill to other hospitals” the union reveals.
The union warns that “without permanent coverage of all vacancies there can be no public healthcare system” and describe the situation as of “the total collapse.”
KTG understand that there are 8 vacancies for anesthesiologists in the hospital but due to austerity measures, this much needed personnel cannot be hired.
