Angry residents on the island of Leros in the eastern Aegean Sea prepared an anything but warm welcome for the controversial Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis. Frustrated about the deterioration of the public health care system and the severe personnel shortages in hospitals, they called him a “clown”, “depraved” and a “fascist” due to his political past in far-right party Laos.
Της τρελής με τον Γεωργιάδη για το νοσοκομείο στη Λέρο :
«Σας αρέσει να τα κλείνετε,έχετε συνηθίσει όπως το ΄13 που μας πέταξες στο δρόμο»
«Ξύλο δώστε του»
«Γιουσουφάκι του Καρατζάφερη»#Αδωνις #Λερος #κυβερνηση_καρναβαλι #κυβερνηση_Μητσοτακη #Μητσοτακης #νδ pic.twitter.com/ojsH4GNGxO— antonis kelaidonis (@antonkelaidon) August 21, 2024
Repeating again and again the slogan “Give money for health, hands off from public hospitals,’ residents booed the minister and used phrases such as “You are not ashamed,” and “Go!” as well as accusations against the minister who instead of upgrading the hospitals as he and the Prime Minister reassure, he leads them to collapse.
The residents of Laros, with many elderly among them as media showed, did not hide their anger in the face of minister Georgiadis calling him also “fascist” and “clown” among others, as recorded in the relevant videos.
«ΔΕΝ ΝΤΡΕΠΕΣΑΙ ΡΕ ΚΑΡΑΓΚΙΟΖΗ;
ΔΕΝ ΝΤΡΕΠΕΣΑΙ ΡΕ ΦΑΣΙΣΤΑ, ΔΕΝ ΝΤΡΕΠΕΣΑΙ;»
Αυτή την «θερμότατη» υποδοχή που του έκαναν οι νησιώτες μας στην Λέρο, δεν πρόκειται να την ξεχάσει ο @AdonisGeorgiadi ποτέ στην ζωή του.
«Δεν ντρέπεσαι ρε φασίστα, δεν ντρέπεσαι;Η ντροπή είσαι ρε,… pic.twitter.com/eFjMrC5YqH
— Areti Athanasiou (@AretiAthanasiu) August 21, 2024
Leros is not the only island where public hospitals suffer of extreme shortages of experienced personnel.
Samos hospital collapsing
In Samos of 32,000 permanent residents and popular tourists’ destination in the summer months, the hospital governor resigned on Wednesday, after the only one pediatrician suffered a brain stroke due to burn out and “being on Emergency duty 23 days per month,” as a relative of the woman who is hospitalized in Athens told news website newsit.gr. She was reportedly hired in April after re repatriated from Germany where she was living and working. August 1-18, the doctor had 6 active 24-hour emergency duties and 4 open ones where she is at home and rushes to hospital when needed. And this in addition to her normal working schedule. She had to be transferred to Athens because there is no MRI scanner in Samos.
On Thursday, two more doctors submitted their resignations, while media headlined the relevant posts with “Samos hospital is closing down.”
The chief of the hospital doctors said that a total of 19 vacancies for doctors like pediatricians, anesthesiologists, orthopedics, intensivists, doctors for ICUs and Emergency departments and other faculties are empty, state broadcaster ERT reported.
The hospital workers union said that there should have been 75 doctors of all specialties, but only 30 are working there. The problem with the pediatric section has been known since the last 8 years, the union stressed.
“Magic solutions” threatening patients’ and doctors’ lives
Responding to criticism and blames, Minister Georgiadis has often claimed claims that the vacancies are open but no doctors apply, thus he refuses to answer the question as to why do doctors refuse.
Georgiadis’ill will towards doctors is immense and when he visited the island of Lesvos last April he called them “insignificant little people, caffirs!”
Instead of improving the working conditions, the minister has found the ” magic” solution of ordering doctors to temporarily cover empty seats even if it’s 200 km away from their permanent working place. I know a doctor in north-western Greece, who has to travel 240 km -two ways trip- 2 or sometimes even 4 times per week to cover missing specialty in another town.
And it’s not only the hospitals on the islands or remote areas that are in operation practically without staff.
In Mollaous, south Peloponnese, doctors denounced the personnel shortage saying that it is so grave that irrelevant specialties are assigned to cover all kinds of patients and sicknesses.
An orthopedics is on duty for all surgery issues, a cardiologist is assigned for all patients of a general practitioner.
However, the same health situation is the hospital of Sparti, where the doctor specialized in screening (X-rays and CT) is away “for personal reasons” and the screenings are done at a private company.
Heart attack patient treated by gynecologist on Kos
It was on August 15, when a 69-year-old man on the island of Kos suffered a serious heart attack and the only doctor available to take care of him at the hospital was a …gynecologist.
Kos is another island whose population doubles in the summer months.
Minister Georgiadis had reportedly ordered a cardiologist to serve in the public hospital for one month, due to tourism surge. However, the said doctor had left the hospital 1-2 days before the heart attack as his contract had expired.
It seems as though Georgiadis does not have the slightest concern or even care about the critical state of
Greece’s health service. As a British expat, I am familiar with the underinvestment of public health care systems but not with the attitude from the supposed Health Minister.
He’s a disgrace to his party and the country. Mitsotakis should remove him from his post or the people will remind him at the next election and not in a nice way.
Georgiadis is the frontman who implements Mitso’s policies.
Thank you KTG. ‘Truer words were never spoken’.