Health Minister asks hospital administrators to adhere to budgets

Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis requested from the country’s hospital administrators to strictly adhere to the budgets for 2024 and improve citizens’ experience of the country’s health services by reducing their waiting time in emergency rooms and for surgeries

At the first workshop organized by the Health Ministry for the heads of the Health Regions and hospitals of the National Health System (ESY), Georgiadis said the ministry will evaluate the implementation of the changes through the monitoring of the operational and financial indicators of health units, complaints-comments of citizens, but also the firsthand findings from his “sudden and unannounced” visits to hospitals.

The workshop, which began with the statements of the health minister, Deputy Health Minister Irene Agapidaki, Deputy Ministers Dimitris Vartzopoulos and Marios Themistokleous and Secretary General for Health Services Lillian Vildiridi, was held on the eve of the start of the nomination and selection process for the new administrations in the ESY, which is expected to last a few months.

According to Georgiadis, the performance of the administrators will be judged, among other things, on whether they stick to the budgets approved by the ministry this year as of January 10, instead of mid-year which was the norm in all previous years. “These budgets, which have been based on the actual spending you did last year, must be adhered to. And the responsibility rests with you. We will be watching. Administrations that I will see month after month that fall short of the budget can know now that they will not continue,” he said.

“Those of you who decide to stay, stay on the condition that you give your best until the last day. And to those who apply to continue in office, when the time comes for me to select the new administration, our cooperation and your performance during that time will be the key criteria,” he told administrators.

Regarding the reduction of the waiting time of patients in the ICU, Georgiadis said that the effort of the administrations to find smart solutions to speed up the process “will be duly appreciated.”

As he pointed out, this year 2.9 billion euros will be allocated for the operating costs for all hospitals of the ESY, which is twice as much as in 2014 (1.460 billion euros). In addition, hospitals in the next two months will be asked to universally implement the new system of costing and reimbursement of DRGs for hospital services based on the work produced (hospitalizations, medical operations, surgeries).

In 2024, the major recruitment program in the ESY starts (estimated at 10,000 positions by 2027), and the upgrading of ESY hospital structures through a Recovery Fund program is underway.