Employees at the G. Gennimatas General Hospital in Athens have reported severe overcrowding and operational failure under the new duty shift system, with 60 patients left on stretchers in the emergency room for nearly 24 hours.

Patients left untreated in critical condition

According to hospital staff, as of 10:00 AM, approximately 60 patients had not been allocated beds, including one who had been intubated overnight. Patients left on stretchers in the emergency department included:

  • Severe infection cases
  • Patients with internal bleeding requiring transfusions
  • Respiratory failure cases
  • Terminal cancer patients
  • Ischaemic stroke and cerebral haemorrhage cases
  • Patients with renal failure

By 7:10 PM, 43 patients remained stranded in the emergency department, 11 hours after the hospital’s official duty period had ended.

Hospital staff accuse administrators of manipulating patient numbers to downplay the crisis by concealing Covid emergency cases in an attempt to artificially lower the count.

“A complete collapse of healthcare”

In a statement published by OENGE, workers from the ESAK faction at the hospital denounced the situation as a direct result of government policy.

“The criminal healthcare policies, culminating in the new duty system, have led the hospital to total collapse. The supposed solution of co-advertising with Sotiria Hospital is proving ineffective, and the government’s excuses—such as the closure of the cardiology clinic for renovations—do not address the real problem,” they state.

The workers criticised Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, demanding accountability:

“What does the minister of misery have to say about these images? Are the communists, the leftists, the workers to blame again? Or is this yet another issue he finds too boring to comment on?”

They also took aim at EINAP (the Athens and Piraeus Hospital Doctors’ Union) leadership for ignoring the crisis while attending celebratory events with government officials.

“What does the president of EINAP have to say? Just three days ago, they were cutting celebratory cake with the minister as if nothing was wrong. If they want to celebrate with government officials, let them do it at home—they are unwanted in our hospitals.”

Strike action planned

Hospital workers have announced a work stoppage and planned demonstrations on January 21, protesting what they describe as a horrific policy that degrades both patient care and working conditions.

“We refuse to stand by while our patients’ dignity and our own are undermined,” they concluded.

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