Athens Medical Association wants ICU closures probed
A report submitted by the Athens Medical Association to Greece’s Supreme Court, according to which 200 intensive care units at Greek hospitals remain closed, putting patients’ lives at risk, is to be examined by the Athens Court of First Instance, Kathimerini understands.
The association, which is known by its Greek acronym ISA, has asked the judiciary to determine who should be held responsible for the understaffing of the units, accusing the Greek state of “criminal negligence.”
“The state did not see to the renewal of the contracts of staff employed in the ICUs of state hospitals in the autumn of last year, leading to the closure of the units before the onset of the flu season,” ISA said in a statement.
The understaffing of the ICUs, which ISA said was “putting the health and lives of patients at risk,” was the focus of a vehement verbal exchange in Parliament between Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis and New Democracy MP Adonis Georgiadis, who served as health minister under the New Democracy-led coalition of former premier Antonis Samaras.
A series of cutbacks demanded by Greece’s international creditors in recent years have left hospitals with shortages of both staff and equipment.
