Evening surgery: Hospital doctors are filing an appeal to insult the CYA

They react to afternoons – paid – and use the legal route to insult the CYA. At a time when afternoon surgeries “jump” one after another in hospitals throughout the country, the Federation of Associations of Hospital Doctors of Greece (OEGNE) is drafting an appeal for the cancellation of the CYA (5/2/24) with which recently, the expansion of the morning operation of the surgeries became the law of the state. At the same time, the Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis continues to release daily to social media, new surgical clinics and hospitals that inaugurate their afternoon function. Last hospital to join the institution, is the Hippocratic Hospital of Thessaloniki, a hospital that – as it had become known in the previous period – had huge deficiencies in anesthesiologists. According to the Minister of Health’s post, these deficiencies “are also the reason that in all my interviews I appreciated that in this hospital there will be no afternoon surgery. Finally we were wrong”, commented in his post in X, Mr Georgiadis. The first patient to operate in Hippokratia Thessaloniki was a 68-year-old citizen (B.G) who suffered from back pain and was diagnosed on 21 December with a hernia of intervertebral disc. The surgery took place on Tuesday afternoon 26/03/2024 and was successful. “This is how this hospital becomes more attractive to attract Anesthesiologists and solve the problem,” commented the Minister of Health. UENGE’s mobilisations and legal action But hospital doctors do not feel the same way. In addition to recourse to justice, they are currently moving Wednesday 27-03-24 to a job stop from 12 noon to 3 p.m. and gathering a protest outside the health ministry. In an announcement the doctors claim they are against the institution of afternoon surgeries. The hospital doctors of Athens and Piraeus (IPAP) even invite their colleagues not to participate in the afternoon operation of the NSO’s surgeries. The OENGE, however, states that it will intervene legally in cases where it is violated or has already been violated (e.g. bypassing the surgery committee, bypassing the Surgical Division Director in each hospital, bypassing the Scientific Officers of the surgical departments, patients off the list, etc.). “The struggles against the shame of ‘evening’ paid surgeries continue. OENGE calls on hospital doctors to participate in mass work. OENGE calls on health professionals and health users to take part in the protest rally on Wednesday 27/3 at 13.30 in the health ministry,” she says in a statement. With the support of the IPA and the WTO The doctors of the Association of Medical Hospitals of Athens and Piraeus (EINAP) are also on the same front, who support the mobilisations, along with ADEDY and the Federation of Workers in Public Hospitals (POEDIN). IAP claims only public surgery, an increase in state budget for Health and massive recruitment of doctors and nurses. Also increases in doctors’ salaries and safe working conditions: Employees in Public Hospitals (POEDEN). “The 40% of developed surgical rooms are closed due to a lack of Nursing Personnel and Doctors mainly Anesthesiologists and therefore waiting lists for surgery exceed two years. Therefore, we strongly disagree with the operation of paid afternoon surgeries for which patients will put their hands in their pocket and increase public access barriers to hospitals,” employees say. In mobilizations and the doctors of Thessaloniki, the doctors of the Association of Hospital Physicians of Thessaloniki (ENITH), who ask their colleagues to attend the mobilization that will take place at 1.30 p.m. in 3rd Ministry of Medicine (Aristotelous 16). As doctors point out in their announcement, “the application of afternoon paid surgeries and the possibility of performing private work of the NSY physicians celebrated and widely advertised by the government, is further marketing of health, at the same time that hospitals are only by name public, the obstacles to health care of the people are giant and health professionals are invited to work sun with sun for a few crumbs above.” According to doctors, the huge waiting lists for surgery did not come from the sky. “It is the result of the timeless sub-financing and sub-strain policy of the NSS, which swelled to an exponential extent during the pandemic and continues at the same pace. In Thessaloniki hospitals in daily morning operation is only 60% of the available operating rooms, due to lack of staff. In many hospitals, such as Hippokratiaio and Papanikolaou, hypostellosis is such that they constantly move anesthesiologists and nursing staff to operate the surgeries”, they end up. By Janna Soulaki / Source: iatropedia.gr