Doctors deserve respect because they were not swayed by extreme trade union appeals, says health minister Adonis Georgiadesciting data from the IDIKA which show that electronic prescribing follows the usual rhythms, despite the announcement by the Panhellenic Medical Association to refrain from prescribing by private doctors, in view of the passing of a provision that provides for the imposition of sanctions if private doctors refuse to support the NHS, when there are important reasons to protect public health.

“I sincerely thank the private freelance doctors who have not followed his call Panhellenic Medical Association refrain from prescribing. I was sure they wouldn’t follow her, as evidenced by the electronic records. Electronic prescribing today is following the usual pace, with a small drop today of some 5,000, 6,000 prescriptions, but they had a corresponding increase yesterday, apparently some people were afraid of the fuss and went and wrote their prescriptions. Basically, the prescribing is done normally, so don’t worry people, from what the numbers show, the doctors are writing their prescriptions normally and I thank them for that. The reverse would be really tragic,” said the health minister and insisted: “It would be really tragic for doctors, their conflict, any conflict they have with any political leadership, in this case with me, to take it out on the patients. Doctors have not done that so far and that is a reason to be respected, because they have not been swayed by extreme trade union appeals.’

Mr. Georgiadis referred to the shortages in hospitals, a problem faced by the entire EU, as he pointed out. He also referred to the barren calls of doctors, despite the incentives given to them. “The Minister of Health has the heavy responsibility of exhausting every available means to provide his fellow citizens, his fellow human beings, with a hospital that is basically functioning. Kill me! You say very nice words, to increase the budget, to increase the incentives, we will probably do them as much as we can. You may want more. The General Accounting Office of the State tells us that we can. All this is good, but it doesn’t solve the problem of August”, said Mr. Georgiadis, who nevertheless expressed his assessment that with the new policy of incentives, with the new policy for barren areas, with the increased money that will be given to doctors to go to these areas, there will be a much better result, in four months from today, when the new announcement will be made. “But for the four months, the proposal of the opposition was not to put pressure on the doctors. This really surprised me because until now I was the supposed defender of private doctors against the NHS. All these days, however, you are the supporters of private doctors against the NHS. I was really surprised by this,” said the health minister, addressing the opposition parties and adding: “I really thought that the left would be in favor of private doctors going to the NHS, where there is no other solution, and let them miss a day from the doctor’s office their”.

Mr. Georgiadis informed the committee of Social Affairs of the Parliament that already three private doctors in Kos have declared their intention to take over duty at the island’s hospital. There will also be a doctor from Hippocrates and possibly another doctor from another hospital in Athens. Also, in Xanthi, ten doctors declared for the four months. “I asked them to back off for four months until I announce the positions again, with the new incentives, with which I believe more will come,” said Mr. Georgiadis and added that now dozens of volunteer private doctors in Greece have put it into practice and he gave thanks for this, because they helped to keep the hospitals standing for this quarter.

“As you understand, after what I told you, there is no longer any reason to issue the relevant ministerial decision, implementing the article in question”, said the Minister of Health and added: “I have said it, here in the Parliament, more than two hundred times that it is not my intention to make that decision. The article has been included and will remain in the bill (ss bill for psychiatric reform), so that the Greek Minister of Health, if necessary and has no other solution, can also have this weapon in his hands, as a last resort, as the last weapon, when there is absolutely no other solution.”

Mr. Georgiadis informed the MPs that he will submit an amendment to the bill that will concern the exercise of private work by NHS doctors. The amendment will extend the possibility of private work to both medical specialists and assistants. However, he clarified that the exercise of private work will be for what their license allows for the exercise of medical work.

Bullying an employee is a shameful and illegal practice

The Minister of Health also referred to yesterday’s incident, with him as the protagonist Pavlos Polakis. “To clash politically in the room with each other is legitimate, understandable, acceptable, sometimes we can even cross the limits. The Parliament is a place of compositions but also of conflicts. Neither can we agree on everything nor can we disagree on everything. We are political adversaries not enemies, that’s what I believe, but sometimes we can cross the line and to be completely honest, the last person in this room to criticize, in terms of keeping lines, would be me. And since I don’t like not looking at myself in the mirror, I tell you that I too have crossed the line sometimes. I try not to but it has happened to me. As in this committee, with my statement last week, with my statement to Mr. Polakis, for which I apologized to him the next day in the Plenary”, said Adonis Georgiadis and added: “This is different and different to turn against employees. The employees are here to serve us, to do our work and to enable the functioning of the Parliament, whether the MPs or the ministers, or the services of the Parliament, in such a way that we reach a result at the end”.

Especially for his partner who was shot by Pavlos Polakis yesterday, Mr. Georgiadis said: “Ms. Petroulia is not here for a hobby. Mrs. Petroulia is here doing a job. She is a worker doing a job. I am happy about the decision taken by SYRIZA yesterday, not because I have any issues I may have with Mr. Polakis, but it would be tragic as a message to show that we cannot understand in Parliament that bullying an employee in Greece is prohibited. And the bullying of a female worker, rather, is fortunately a shameful and illegal practice in the society we live in.”

“I hope that the deletion of Mr. Polakis is not a political ploy of August, only to be reinstated a little later. Because I confess that from the statements of Mr. Kasselakis afterwards, I understood something like this. I won’t say what you will do in your party, but it will be very derogatory for the Greek people and for every working woman who has been bullied at work, to use political excuses. Here we have the archetype that the left is supposed to be fighting: the employer’s bullying of the employee,” said Adonis Georgiadis.