Paid evening surgeries to launch soon

Paid evening surgeries at the public hospitals will launch soon, as Economy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis co-signed on Tuesday a joint ministerial decision.

The ministerial decision issued at the government gazette says surgical operations at the National Health Service (ESY) may be carried out on all days, with the exception of hospitals in Attica and Thessaloniki, when the hospitals there are on duty. Surgical operations will not be conducted after 10pm.

Medical staff participating in these late-hour operations will each be compansated with €15 an hour.

Greece has been experiencing critical staff shortages in recent months, which has resulted in the unavoidable shutdown of many surgical clinics, even those in children’s hospitals. 

Paid afternoon surgeries aim is to encourage doctors to raise the number of afternoon surgeries, but also to reduce the long waiting times, which have also intensified due to the pandemic. There are currently 102,634 surgeries pending across the country, with the most common procedures being cataract removal, knee replacement, cholecystectomy, hip replacement, and tonsillectomy. 

However it has raised reactions from health workers, medical unions and opposition parties. The Greek Medical Association stated, “Afternoon surgeries will not only fail to solve problems but will also create new ones.”