Adonis Georgiadis: Which hospitals start afternoon surgeries – What about private doctors in the NIS

On the subject of afternoon surgery, you were mentioned by the Minister of Health, and he also talked about the motives that the doctors of the NSS will have. Adonis Georgiadis was nominally mentioned in hospitals which are ready to start afternoon surgeries in the following weeks and assured that they do not close structures based on the new health map. The Minister of Health in an interview with the ICM explains that today when there is money to hire there is no offer to fill the vacancyes. “All the reform we are working on is attracting new doctors into the system. The freedom to provide private work by a public sector doctor is a great incentive,” points out A. Georgiades and reveals how this will be done: “When a NSA doctor has fully completed his responsibilities towards the public system, that is, he has done his hours, his on-calls, he will be able in his spare time to have any other private employment relationship he wants. This can be from the private practice to even a partnership with the private sector.” But in the thoughts of the Minister of Health it is also that private doctors can “enter” and work in structures of the NIS. In what sense? “For example if a surgeon wants with his team to make use of a public hospital surgery room he will pay for this use. But there will be an insurance policy for this cooperation. In order for a doctor to be able to have this cooperation, he must participate in the on-call, that is to say, take part in the hospital’s responsibilities, because otherwise it is unfair for doctors working in the hospital,” he explains. Speaking of afternoon surgery, he points out that like all major changes take time to find their way. They will not start operating clocks from the beginning of the week, highlights features and adds that “Evangelism, the General State of Athens (G. Genemaas), the General State of Nice will immediately begin afternoon surgeries, but also several hospitals in the district that have already shown interest. There will be constant updates as a bulletin comes out Press about which hospitals and which clinics start afternoon surgeries, so that people know where they can address to appoint their appointment to operate.” Responding to a question about the doctor’s interest in participating in them, but also the adequacy of infrastructure, he points out “most doctors who do not get envelopes will from now on have a legal process – not to feel that they are the ” suckers”, that they are the honest ones and others the… “smart” who take the envelope – with their work and their value to make extra income. This good doctor is rewarded. With the other we have a front”. Referring to the fact that we pay most of our pocket money in Greece for health services, he explains that “if we transfer a piece of private spending to the public system and the public system will strengthen and the money we will eventually pay will be less. So one who gives 5,000 to a private hospital, if he goes to an afternoon surgery, he’ll give 1,500 euros. Eventually he will pay less money than his pocket”. A. Georgiades also reveals that one of the key criteria on the basis of which administrators will be judged in hospitals will be the operation of the patient office. “The patients will have full access to this in order to be informed of the services provided to the hospital, they will be able to rate these services and also report behaviours that are inconsistent with the medical function,” he says. Finally, it emphasises that the changes that are under way do not threaten the public character of the ESA but the opposite. For the new health map, he says “I did not come to the ministry to close structures. I came to the ministry this time to strengthen the structures. We need a new NSA and that’s what we’re building. As planned, he has no future in the new world. We are building a new NSA to last the next 50 years.”