A broad meeting of presidents of the country’s Medical Associations and Professional Associations was convened by the ISA, on the subject of the draft Law under consultation “Public health actions – Arrangements to strengthen the National Health System”, which has been put under consultation by the Ministry of Health.

The doctors expressed their disagreement with the regulation that provides for the disciplinary intervention of the PISto the Medical Associations of the country

A resolution was adopted and they unanimously asked for the withdrawal of provisions.

The representative of the Legal Service of ISA, Lambros Georgakopoulos, who participated in the meeting, referred extensively to article 34 of the Draft Law, which provides for the disciplinary intervention of the PIS, in the Medical Associations of the country and emphasized:

“This arrangement clearly opposes the Constitution and the rule of law, both in the sense that a new disciplinary action can be taken, even if a disciplinary action has already been taken by another body, so it also opposes the fundamental principle of disciplinary law and the universal principle , but also contradicts the provision of article 320 par. 12 of Law 4512/2018, according to which “No one is prosecuted for the same offense a second time, and only one disciplinary penalty is imposed. Different legal classification of the same incidents within the same disciplinary procedure does not make the disciplinary procedure or prosecution new.”

The doctors are also asking for the order to carry it out vaccine against covid-19 in pharmaciesemphasizing that “it is unacceptable for pharmacists to perform a medical procedure”

In detail, the provisions that the doctors are asking to be withdrawn

The resolution was signed by presidents of Medical Associations and professional organizations “representing 70% of the country’s doctors and at least 50% of the PIS electors” and they unanimously request the withdrawal of the following provisions:

“As for the article 7 we align with the unanimously voted positions of the General Assembly of the PES which are in favor of the public nature of the NHS and the full and exclusive employment of NHS doctors with direct upgrading their salaries on average for Eurozone doctors.

Article 34 – The ex officio exercise of disciplinary proceedings against members of the Board and Board of Directors of IS and PIS, elected representatives of doctors, is a provision that attempts a fundamental and structural change in matters of disciplinary law of doctors. It overlooks both that the PIS does not have medical members, but only medical associations, and that each doctor is subject to the disciplinary control of the Board of Directors of the relevant IS, which is exclusively the competent body for carrying out disciplinary proceedings against him. (cf. also the decision of the Minister of Health with no. prot. 1489/15.5.2023 – ADA 6TO0465FYO-HON). He is trying to abolish the autonomy of the IS and potentially put under the hostage of the majority of the Board of Directors of the PIS all the elected representatives of the doctors, who may not be liked by this majority.

Article 48 – Institutionalizing the possibility of administering all the vaccines to adults listed in the National Adult Vaccination Program, as well as the administration of the covid-19 vaccine in pharmacies, we consider it to be dangerous for public health and patient safety if it is estimated that not every doctor can perform this medical procedure, but only qualified medical personnel. In other words, the performance of a medical act by pharmacists is unacceptable, while the performance of the same act is prohibited for almost all doctors. The fake title of the pharmacies as Primary Health Care Units does not lead to a removal of the risk.

Article 56 par. 4 – The legalization of the participation of IS representatives in the General Assembly of the PIS even if they have not paid the due contributions it is particularly problematic at the level of the rule of law, contrary to all the provisions that govern the organization and operation of each union and ultimately opposes the very nature of the PIS as an NPDD of a union nature, by law.”