The President of PASOK-Movement for Change, Nikos Androulakis, attended a thematic event in Heraklion, Crete, on health entitled “Together for the new NHS”, who during his speech referred to the need for a “rebirth” of the NHS.

“The National Health System for too many years was a key driver of social justice, a safety net for the underprivileged of the time. Unfortunately, the years have passed, the problems have multiplied, with the result that in the country today we have a public health system, which cannot play its strategic role, offering high-level services” said Nikos Androulakis, repeating that many are taken to private structures health and how Greece is “bumping” with Bulgaria over “which nation pays from its own pocket, the most private health costs”.

Referring to the recovery fund and the support of the national health systems, the President of PASOK-KINAL said that out of the 36 billion that the country received, only 1.5 billion was used for health and half of it concerns the energy upgrade of building infrastructure.

“The New Democracy’s answer is that these are old pathogens. Yes, but Mitsotakis has not been prime minister for a few months, it is as many years as Tsipras was prime minister, so today he is not only faced with chronic pathologies, he is also faced with ideology, weakness, or service to powerful economic interests that spin him area of ​​health and does not want to make the necessary decisions to protect society in these big issues. “Well, he is not only facing us, he is facing the problems he created, or the problems that are chronic, but he does not have the experience, the strength, the vigor or the autonomy to solve them,” said Mr. Androulakis.

The President of PASOK-KINAL, regarding their proposals, referred to a program with eight central axes for the regeneration of the NHS, such as the development of the public health sector as an integrated public service with strong structures in every region of the country, a single system of primary health care under public supervision, intervention for health in the big, the smallest, but also the very small islands with staffed structures and division of positions. He also referred to the need for a new health map that would respond to real demographic and population changes, the creation of modern and innovative care units outside of nursing institutions and the upgrading of human resources with a change in salary and their inclusion in the heavy and unhealthy, as well as he stressed that without resources there will be no new NHS. “A fiscal priority for us is the renaissance of education and the renaissance of health. For teachers and nurses, for professors and for doctors. We have a duty to support the welfare state.”

Also, Mr. Androulakis in his speech referred to the problems faced by the hospitals of Crete saying that “we are already at minus 50% of the level that should exist in health structures and services and we continue to fall. Today there is no program, there are no measures that respond to the urgent needs of the island, four of the eight hospitals have less than 50% capacity with a shortage of medical, nursing and administrative staff, putting a serious issue in their operation”.

Additionally, referring to the selection system for hospital administrators, after the removal of the administrator of the “Elena” Maternity Hospital, he spoke of “partisanship and meritocracy that has a wrapper of a new law” pointing out that PASOK-KINAL’s proposal is “the selection with an open international competition , where an independent committee – mostly from ASEP – will check, evaluate and select the administrators and indeed with an additional element. With a five-year term, so as to exclude the synchronization of the elections, with the schedule of the governors”.

Also, among the interventions he proposed, was also coverage of the real needs of the NHS, permanent medical, nursing and paramedical staff, with transparent procedures, as well as a digital transformation of health.

Interventions at the thematic event were made by the former Director of Policy and Governance for health and well-being of the European office P.O.Y. and specialist professor of global health at Boston University, Agis Tsouros, on “The strategy for a modern E.S.Y.” and also the Director E.S.Y. , doctor of the School of Medicine of the University of Crete, Nikos Tsakoundakis, with the title “Primary health care and prevention”. The Coordinating Director E.S.Y. also spoke. of the oncology department of Venizeleio hospital of Heraklion, Nikolaos Androulakis, on the topic “Secondary health care – Strong hospitals”, the vice-president of the Greek patients’ association Katerina Koutsoyianni, on the topic “The problems of the E.S.Y. from the patients’ point of view”, Maria Spinthouri , member of the Board of Directors of the 5th regional division of the Greek Nurses Union, with the theme “Nursing care and patient outcome: A critical relationship”. The thematic event was coordinated by Lambros Vamvakas, ESY Director at the Pathology – Oncology Clinic PA.GN.H.