Pleuris: The return of unvaccinated health workers with strict measures – Free palliative care services

Under strict sanitary measures they return from 1.1.2023 unvaccinated healthcare workers. Health Minister Thanos Pleuris informed the national delegation that no legislative regulation is required for their return, since the prohibition measure will not be renewed. Today the committee of experts recommended to the ministry and the way of their return.

In particular, the committee recommends that “the unvaccinated healthcare workers return with two rapid tests, with a high-protection mask, to ensure that the test is done in order to have a record, to monitor compliance with the measures, by the Administration, most obviously non-compliance will constitutes a disciplinary offence. For non-vaccinated doctors and non-vaccinated nurses, the recommendation is not to be in the ICU and in places where there are immunocompromised patients, such as oncology departments.

To the question asked by MPs what will happen to their wages, for the time they were taken out of service, the Minister of Health clarified: “There is no question of remuneration. They come back and start getting paid.”

The CoE considered the measure constitutional, it did not consider its latest extension, Thanos Pleuris also said.

As he also pointed out, the bill provides that “the fine is deleted for those over 60 who were not vaccinated and after the fine was imposed, they were vaccinated”.

“Really, it’s a harsh measure. There is no minister who wants to impose fines, but this is how vaccination went from 55% to 80%. Once the fine was provided there were 250,000 citizens vaccinated at these ages. “Well, the fine was effective,” said the Minister of Health.

“Free palliative care services”

At the same time, Thanos Pleuris pointed out that “an organized palliative care service provision system is being established in our country, with a long delay, which concerns 135,000 people. If we think about their families, then we can understand that this initiative has a strong social impact”.

With the bill, the minister said, the terms and conditions are defined for the public and private sector structures that can provide these services, which services will be free, either in the public structures or in the context of the contracts with EOPYY. According to the standard that exists in other services provided related to a vulnerable population, there will be no co-payments and the hospital will be fully covered by EOPYY, said Mr. Pleuris.

The goal is an integrated framework of medical coverage and medical care because palliative medicine cannot be absent, said Mr. Pleuris.

But when will this comprehensive framework exist? In the first phase, as the Minister of Health explained, there are structures for the provision of palliative care that can be adapted and at the same time it will be possible to develop others, so that “quickly we will have an integrated network of palliative care”.

Referring to the other provisions of the bill, Mr. Pleuris pointed out that the contracts of all the auxiliary staff who entered the system due to covid are being renewed. “There is no other process for these people to remain permanently in the health system, apart from the process of renewing contracts and announcements that provide for increased points due to their experience. There is no procedure for automatically changing the contracts from fixed to indefinite,” said Mr. Pleuris. Also, those who joined the NHS, at the most difficult juncture, and would not remain in their positions due to the return of the unvaccinated health workers, are also given, as he said, the possibility to become adjuncts, initially with the renewal of the semester.

The minister said that the new framework for transplants and the action plan for mental health are being promoted to the Parliament in the next period.

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