Never on Sunday: Tourist dies of heart attack as rural clinic closed on weekends

An elderly tourist visiting Anavra in central Greece suffered a heart attack and died a few meters away from the rural clinic of the village because it was closed. Cynical ‘justification” by the Health Minister: It’s logical that clinics are closed over the weekend.

The incident took place last Sunday, August 18, when the woman was visiting the area together with a group of tourists. She felt unwell and she collapsed. The rural clinic of Anavra, however, was closed. Nurses who participated in the excursion tried to give the elderly woman first aid, but the woman ended up.

An ambulance allegedly arrived from another town 20 minutes later.

Located at an altitude of 780 meters on Othrys mountain and 40 km away from Volos, the village is famous for its waterfalls and a popular tourists’ destination in the area.

Rural clinic hardly opens

The case triggered anger in the broader area with authorities of Almyros, the municipality to which Anavra belongs, to claim that the assigned doctor hardly opens the clinic.

Deputy mayor of Almyros, Yiannis Tsantouris, complained that since a doctor was appointed last January, he has performed only three services in the village and since then the clinic has been closed, leaving the area with no health care  coverage.

In a letter to regional and central health authorities, Tsantouris expressed his anger and disappointment for the unacceptable situation prevailing at the Anavras Rural Clinic, as “it is obvious that human life is devalued when the competent bodies do not take the necessary measures for the proper functioning of the Health structures, especially in remote areas.”

Village Anavra is 40 km away from the town of Almyros.

Speaking to local daily taxydromos.gr , the deputy mayor said that they have provided the doctor with a residence, the clinic is equipped with  the necessary logistics, and it is unacceptable to not have a doctor on daily basis.

Shameless Health Minister

A shameless respond to Almyros municipality criticism came -as no differently expected – by Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis who claimed that clinics are closed over the weekend – as if they are stores or something…- .

In two appearances in television channels on Friday morning he claimed that “no state can have doctors everywhere.” As if he was a doctor, he further claimed that the elderly tourist died “not because there was no doctor but because she had serious health problems.”

“On weekends there have been no doctors in Regional hospitals since the establishment of the National Health Service [ESY] in 1983,” minister Georgiadis provocatively claimed.

Worth noting is that no journalist asked the minister  about the doctor’s whereabouts, the contract, the clinic supplies and a possible waste of resources.

PS I’m waiting for the time when Minister Georgiadis will implement a cap and time table during which people are allowed to get sick and need medical help.