Two innovative programs have been running lately at the General Hospital of Nice Piraeus “Agios Panteleimon”with the aim of improving conditions for both patients and staff, says in an interview with the FM Agency and on Tania Madouvalou’s show “104.9 MYSTIKA HYGEIAS”, the director of the TEP, surgeon and president of the Hellenic Society of Emergency Medicine Dimitris Tsiftsis. “We all know that the emergency situation is a difficult situation, so we are constantly looking for ways to improve it. Thus, in this context with the assistance of the Hospital Administration and in collaboration with the Medicine and Nursing Service, we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation for training and exchange of know-how with the Department of Emergency Medicine of the Yale School of Medicine four months ago. A committee from YALE will come in December to look at the sites and educate us on best practices, how to change the structure and management of the EDs, and how we can see patients accurately, quickly and safely.” Because at the end of the day, we want the citizen not to wait, but also to leave safely. Something that is a very difficult equation, especially in the Greek reality, where we do not have the infinite resources to allocate, emphasizes Mr. Tsiftsis.

Software helps doctors decide faster and safer who goes first in emergency room

Efforts to improve TEPs at the State University of Nice do not stop here, as the director of the department explains. “Trying very quickly and precisely in the first contact with the patient to understand whether it is urgent or not, (a process called triage), with a research group that is interconnected with the Medical School of the University of Patras, we implement a software, which supports medical decisions using artificial intelligence. It’s a pilot program that we’ve been running for two months at the hospital, which will help us make the appropriate decisions faster and safer.” It is worth mentioning that the organized process and implementation of the Screening System is one of the chronic pathologies of the NHS. It is also known that in many hospitals the system of examining patients in order of priority is applied, which uses as an exclusive criterion the time of their arrival and overlooks the type and severity of the problem. A fact, which carries risks, especially for serious cases, where patients initially do not show obvious symptoms. However, in the pilot program implemented in the TEPs of the State of Nice, as Mr. Tsiftsis emphasizes, the selection is based on the gravity of the incident.

A significant reduction in waiting times for seriously ill patients is expected – They make up 3% of arrivals

To the question of whether there is a difference in waiting times, Mr. Tsiftsis replies that it is still too early to draw safe conclusions and at least another 4 months should pass. “However, we believe that the waiting times, especially for the seriously ill, who internationally make up 3% of those coming to the TEPs, will drop a lot. The seriously ill must be recognized immediately and immediately receive the care they need.” But how well can such a program work if no staff is hired, is the next question posed to the director of the TEPs of the State of Nicaea: “High technology always aims to free up human resources. So yes if this program works, as we believe it will, it will be able to release staff from triage so that those staff can be employed in other parts of the hospital. Obviously, however, human resources are essential. And if doctors and nurses are laid off based on software, computer and IT technicians will be laid off. In the end, human resources are always absolutely necessary.”

The National Screening Plan provides for the homogenization of the process in all hospitals of the country

We are the first to see the pathologies of the system, says the expert and underlines: “The world must know that we do not like the existing situation either. And this is exactly the reason that makes us constantly look for new innovative and pioneering solutions to be able to respond better to this problem. We are not satisfied with what we see, and neither are you as citizens.” According to the distinguished surgeon, the operation of the emergency room and Emergency Medicine is a new thing in Greece. “First full-time and full-time doctors in TEPs were appointed in 2019 and since then until now, we are rapidly trying to eradicate these chronic pathogens. Just this year, a few months ago, the Hellenic Society of Emergency Medicine submitted a National Triage Plan to the Ministry of Health and to the public debate, on which, in collaboration with ODIPY, we have started to train other Hospitals’ ED staff. The plan envisages homogenization of the triage process in all hospitals of the country.”

The changes in the duty regime of Attica are a complex puzzle

Mr. Tsiftsis is then asked what is your opinion about the changes in the on-call regime of Attica (the on-call groups have been changing since November) and the changes in general that are underway in the TEP. “Serious efforts are being made to change the image of the on-call regime in the hospitals of Athens. The image of TEPs is changing, they are being rebuilt based on the plan of TEP standards approved by the Ministry of Health. Announcements are made, a lot of work is done, but it’s a very complex puzzle with a lot of players. We will have to look at how primary care will be involved, how we want to invest in human resources, which hospitals we want to use and how. We need to talk with the scientific societies, such as Surgery, Trauma, Emergency Medicine and others, as well as with our union bodies, and with the EKAV. It is a very complex problem. Fortunately, this conversation has opened up so much that in the end things will probably go much better than they are today. Everything, of course, is judged in retrospect. On November 10, I will be able to tell you whether the new system has improved the situation or not.”