“A large hospital was evacuated with absolute order and with absolute success, under difficult conditions“, said the Deputy Minister of Health, Dimitris Vartzopoulos, commenting on the coordination of the safe transport operation of the patients after the decision to evacuate the Alexandroupolis Hospital and the condition of the patients.

Dimitris Vartzopoulos pointed out that he, together with the Deputy Minister of Health, Marios Themistokleous, were in Alexandroupoli from the first moment and in constant communication with the Minister of Health, Michalis Chrysochoidis, they coordinated the safe transport of all patients. Speaking to the SKAI television station, he emphasized that what was done since last night “was a significant achievement”.

In particular, the Deputy Minister of Health noted that “the condition of all hospitalized patients is good, corresponding to their condition in the Hospital and in this sense they are not at any risk beyond that of their original disease”.

When the fire started what it created the big problem in the hospital was air pollution. That is, smoke and ash. “And that’s why we decided it was appropriate to evacuate immediately. We evacuated within 4 hours. In the last two hours because the situation worsened even more we had to rush even more so we also used a ship, where we transported 70 patients. These patients now, the 20 who are burdened, we are transporting them by ambulance, so that they have a continuous medical presence next to them and with sufficient oxygen, and the rest by ship we will transport them to the General Hospital of Kavala, where they will continue their treatment” .

From now on, he added, we will wait to see how the situation in Alexandroupolis will develop. “If the Civil Protection and the Fire Service inform us that there is no danger and that the operation of the Hospital can be restarted, then we will transport the patients back properly and we will do it with speed and efficiency as we did the evacuation.”

Mr. Vartzopoulos clarified that no patient will remain in the “floating” hospital saying: “Nobody will stay there. We entered yesterday late at night, early in the morning, and now the ship has left for Kavala and they will be transferred to the General Hospital of Kavala. We are not setting up a floating hospital. We transport them safely, with continuous medical presence and continuous nursing care to the General Hospital of Kavala”.