Paid afternoon surgeries in public hospitals get under way

Afternoon surgeries for a fee in the country’s public hospitals started on Tuesday, as part of Health Ministry efforts to boost the National Health System (ESY) and make it more attractive to surgeons and anesthetists.

The first surgeries took place at Thessaloniki’s Papageorgiou and AHEPA hospitals. It is seen as no coincidence that northern Greece is the initiative’s launchpad, as it has the longest waits. The first afternoon surgery in Athens will take place at Evangelismos on Thursday.

There are currently 102,634 patients waiting for surgery, of whom 43% have been waiting up to four months, 31% 4-12 months and 26% over a year. 

“The vast majority of hospitals across the country have expressed interest,” Deputy Health Minister Marios Themistocleous told Kathimerini. However, the Thessaloniki Association of Hospital Physicians opposes the move and the bill concerning ESY doctors’ private work.