Opposition accuses gov’t of lackluster mobilization of private sector in Covid battle

Opposition SYRIZA on Tuesday accused the government of failing to effectively mobilize the private sector behind efforts to relieve pressure on public hospitals from mounting Covid-19 admissions and intubations.

Speaking to Skai TV, the leftist party’s spokesman, Nasos Iliopoulos, indicated that efforts to enlist private doctors and medical centers have fallen short and that “some of the units being used right now from the private sector are not suitable.” 

Iliopoulos pointed to the example of one private clinic that recently agreed to take in coronavirus patients, saying that it does not have the facilities or the doctors needed to do so. He went on to say that specialists had to be transferred from public hospitals to staff its Covid wards, essentially undermining the effort to help the public health system cope.

Iliopoulos also accused the government of squandering precious time during the first wave of the pandemic last spring and over the summer to better organize and bolster the public health system. He said that, according to the Hellenic Thoracic Society, “if primary healthcare had been working properly, eight out of 10 coronavirus cases would never reach hospital.”