The tragic shortcomings in the health facilities of the islands brought to the surface once again, the injury of a small child in Kastellorizo ​​who was transferred for treatment to Antalya as it was not possible to immediately transfer him to the hospital of Rhodes.

In particular, the child after the unsuccessful attempt doctor of the Multidisciplinary Clinic to contact the Rhodes hospital in order to be approved for air transport with EKAV, he was taken by boat to Kas and from there he had to go to Antalya where he underwent an operation as he had a serious injury to his finger and returned to Kastellorizo ​​yesterday evening.

The serious long-term deficiencies in the health structures of the islands were highlighted again on the occasion of the injury of the 4-year-old boy in Kastellorizo ​​who had to be transported by boat to Turkey after it was not possible to contact the EMS –due to a fault in the telephone system of the Rhodes hospital as it became known later.

The father of the child made known the adventure of the 4-year-old boy in a touching post of his on facebook, in which, among other things, it states that the child is in good health and has returned to the island

Everything is fine with our little hero, because he is a hero in such a bitter and very time-consuming journey… Thanks for your messages, I didn’t have a phone to answer… We returned to the island and everything is fine.

I would like to personally thank, at least from here, the medical staff of our island these two brave children for the enormous effort they made to our hero…. I will stay only in this part, I will not go into the subject of EKAV, this will be done in an official document….

I would like to thank the port authority, customs, police, the agency of the island and of course the captain Nikos Matsos with the “Eleonora” with which the hero was transported to Kas.

I would like to thank the mayor of Kas who, with the first call they made known, gave us the green light to enter the country of Turkey. Thank you…

I would like to thank the Port Authority, the Customs, the Police, the EKAV of Turkey who waited for us for more than half an hour at the port of Kas and the transfer of our hero took place …..

I would like to thank our doctor and friend Cem for all the actions he took and we changed 2 hospitals and 2 private clinics…. And of course doctor Hakan who woke up in the middle of the night and immediately came to fix our hero…

I would like to thank all my brothers and friends in Turkey for all the organization and psychological support they gave us during those difficult hours we were there from our arrival to our departure…

And especially I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the family of Hurigül Bakirci Magiafi who from the first second to the last minute was by my side and especially her brother Emre, who I have no words to describe all this fatigue, the endless hours of driving… The endless phone calls, no food, no sleep, nothing and still a lot… Emre I have no words to thank you for everything you did for my son… Thank you my brother.

And of course I would like to thank Nikos Asvesti for not missing a second from my side throughout this journey

Thank you father.

Thank you for the excellent service and wonderful hospitality my brothers.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Yours sincerely…….

Christos Doulos

No GP for over three years

The adventure of the little boy and the anxiety of his parents until the child can receive the appropriate medical care, brought to the surface again the serious chronic problem of understaffing of the health structures on the islands which costs thousands of euros every year not only because of the transfers or with watercraft or air, but even human lives.

In Kastellorizo, with a total of approximately 500 inhabitants, of which 250 are permanent residents who live and raise their families on the island, where in the summer the population increases steeply due to the visitors, there has been no general practitioner for at least the last three years!

The needs are met by two rural doctors and a nurse, with air transports being a routine procedure for residents and indeed for cases that could have been treated at the Multipurpose Regional Clinic of Kastellorizo ​​if it was adequately staffed based on its organizational chart.

The incentives given to doctors to serve on the barren line are clearly not sufficient for this and are not a priority for specialty doctors.

The cost of living, transport isolation, difficult working conditions, lack of modern equipment and the inability to find housing, are just some of the problems that prevent doctors from serving in the health structures of the islands, from the smallest to the largest. This is why the understaffing of hospitals, health centers, polygynous and regional clinics, in terms of doctors and nursing staff, is today the biggest wound of the NHS.

Just recently and on the occasion of the huge problems at the Kos Hospital, the Ministry of Health announced that an invitation has been made for doctors with an additional fee of 1,800 euros per month in addition to their salary. “The Ministry of Health, recognizing the staffing problem on our islands, with the latest legislative interventions is taking all the necessary actions to cover all the gaps in our critical islands by providing additional incentives of 1,800 euros to each doctor per month and 1,200 euros to each nurse plus the wages they receive for each commute.”

The situation that prevails in Kastellorizo ​​is no different from the situation that prevails in all the islands of the Dodecanese and not only in the so-called barren line.

The hundreds of vacant medical and nursing staff positions starting from the Rhodes Hospital which as a General (should) serve all the islands of the prefecture, the Kos Hospital, the Health Centers, the Regional Clinics and ending with the smallest clinic in the Dodecanese they cause insecurity but also great inconvenience to the citizens who often need to move spending time and money since they cannot be served at their place of residence even for the simplest medical procedures, most of the time.

The honorarium, as Deputy Mayor Megistis Mr. Stratos Amygdalos says in “demokratiki”, the voluntary groups and organizations that visit the islands from time to time is not enough to cover the permanent needs of the residents who, with personal sacrifices, live by themselves and raise their children in critical areas such as Kastellorizo.

As Deputy Mayor Megistis reports, on the occasion of the incident of the injury of the little boy, even the recent financial incentives announced by the Ministry of Health without the obligation of doctors and nurses to stay in the remote island areas, will not bring about any substantial result. As he says, it is important to establish a sufficient time limit for specialist doctors to serve on the islands, and also to free up the positions which organically appear to be covered, but in fact are not, as the doctors who cover them are not in their positions with the right to given by law and for which, as he says, is often abused, to the detriment of the islanders.

Source: www.dimokratiki.gr