The Federation of Associations of Hospital Doctors of Greece (OENGE) warns of an imminent risk of the department shutting down due to a severe shortage of medical, nursing, and paramedical staff.

Staffing cutbacks

Following the elimination of three out of six authorized positions, the department is now staffed by only three permanent specialized doctors, who have reached their physical and mental limits. They have been forced, for many years, to exceed the prescribed number of on-call shifts without the corresponding rest days or regular leave.

Despite repeated protests from the doctors and numerous interventions by the Workers’ Union, the dangerous understaffing persists,leading to the serious illness of one of the three doctors. This now threatens to halt the department’s operations, potentially causing severe consequences for the entire hospital.

Hospital Administration’s Temporary Solution

The hospital administration’s proposed solution involves temporary relocations of specialized doctors from other already understaffed laboratory departments, as well as medical residents from the hospital’s Internal Medicine and Surgery departments. However, this cannot ensure the safe operation of the Blood Donation Department, resulting in the suspension of blood collections.

This impasse, resulting from the responsibility of all previous governments and the administration of Thriasio General Hospital, is being addressed by creating serious staffing gaps in other hospitals.

On 16/01, without prior notice, the director of the 2nd Regional Health Authority (YPE) ordered a senior doctor from the Blood Donation Department at Nikaia General Hospital to perform six on-call shifts at Thriasio from 22/01 to 31/01. This includes a day when the doctor is on approved leave and five others when she is scheduled to be on-call at Nikaia, as per the official on-call schedule submitted in December.

Immediate Action Needed

“We demand that the administration of the 2nd Regional Health Authority and the political leadership of the Ministry of Health take immediate action to:

• Reinstate and urgently announce the three vacant medical positions.

• Αdequately staff the Blood Donation Department at Thriasio General Hospital with permanent medical and other necessary staff

We also demand that the 2nd YPE administration and the political leadership of the Ministry of Health immediately cancel “orders” for doctors from the General Hospital of Nikaia to perform on-call shifts at Thriasio, as well as such illegal, illogical, and authoritarian commands that cover up the problem, creating tragic gaps in the already understaffed departments of other hospitals.”

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