New labor relations in health system
Doctors working for the National Health System (ESY) will from now be able, under certain conditions, to practice privately and cooperate with private clinics and diagnostic centers, according to the draft law of the Health Ministry.
The proposed draft law includes, among other things, the creation of groups of hospitals per specialty in which doctors will be trained in order to gain more experience in their field.
The draft, whose provisions change the employment relations of doctors in public hospitals and broaches, for the first time, the issue of full and exclusive employment, was put to public consultation on Thursday.
“[The proposed regulations] are expected to numerically and substantially strengthen the country’s medical staff and their working conditions, with the ultimate goal of upgrading the public health system and providing better quality health services for the benefit of Greek citizens,” the ministry said.
The draft stipulates that as long as doctors participate at least twice a week in the all-day – outside regular working hours and on-call duty – operation of the hospital, they will be able to have a private practice or provide medical services.
This could be done twice a week in any capacity including that of consultant, in a private clinic or private diagnostic laboratory, by decision of the hospital’s director.
For their part, private doctors will be able to work part-time in hospitals. Part-time positions will be advertised in health units in more remote areas and for rarer specialties.
The tenure of part-time doctors, who will be required to work three days a week on a seven-hour continuous morning regular schedule and participate in the on-call schedule of hospitals, will be for three years.
