With basic requests for mass recruitment of permanent staff, humane hours, substantial increases in wages, free health for all the people, the Federation of Associations of Hospital Doctors of Greece (OENGE) and the Panhellenic Federation of Employees in Public Hospitals (POEDIN) are carrying out a nationwide health mobilization today.

The Federations have planned a meeting at 9.30 at the Ministry of Health.

“In order for Public Health to have a future, the chronic pathologies of underfunding and understaffing must be addressed,” emphasizes POEDIN.

Commenting on the strike yesterday, speaking to SKAI, Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis stated that “all that the hospital doctors and nurses are asking for, the government is already implementing”.

OENGE also reports that citizens have paid 5.9 billion euros out of pocket and medicines have increased by up to 480%.

According to POEDIN, there are 45,000 vacant organizational positions in Hospitals.

OENGE, for its part, describes the situation in hospitals as follows: “Constant “mandates” for transfers to cover such as vacancies, overtime, unpaid overtime and on-call, rural and specialist burnout before they even start working. Third world conditions after every general duty in large hospitals of the basin and elsewhere”.

“There is no recipe available that can solve the serious problems of the NHS if the root cause is not addressed, which is the lowest level of public health expenditure, which is 5.5% of GDP, while the average of European countries Union is 7.5% of GDP”, reports POEDIN