SYRIZA and PASOK challenge constitutionality of contentious article in mental health reform bill
SYRIZA and PASOK challenged the constitutionality of a contentious article in a conservative government bill reforming mental health services, during a parliamentary debate on Monday.
Article 65 allows for the reinforcement of the National Health System (ESY) by utilizing private doctors and providers to address needs that could endanger public health. It also specifies penalties for private doctors who refuse to support the ESY in such situations, including the termination of their contract with EOPYY, Greece’s main healthcare provider, and a ban on access to the electronic prescription system.
The New Left, a splinter group from SYRIZA, also supported this constitutional challenge.
“The penalties outlined in the bill for private doctors who refuse, as is their constitutional right, to participate in emergency shifts ultimately harm patients, especially vulnerable social groups and lower-income brackets,” said SYRIZA’s rapporteur, MP Andreas Panagiotopoulos. He urged the government to withdraw the article, calling it “unreasonable, unconstitutional and a violation of medical ethics, which offends the scientific community of the country.”
PASOK parliamentary representative Dimitris Mantzios said that the socialist party also contests the constitutionality of Article 65, criticizing it as “politically misguided and legally flawed.”
Reacting to the bill, the union representing public hospital workers, POEDIN, has called a 24-hour strike for Monday. Earlier in the day, a protest rally was held in front of Parliament.
