New allowance for doctors going to barren areas

With a Joint Ministerial Decision signed today, an additional financial incentive is established for the attraction and stay of doctors in problematic or barren areas, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in a post.

In particular, as mentioned by the prime minister, this new allowance, depending on the category of the area where the doctor will practice, starts from 200 euros and for specific specialties can reach up to 600 euros per month.

“In 2 days I will be at the stage of the TIF, where I will have the opportunity to present specific measures and policies that we will follow in the next period. However, today I want to refer separately to something very important that has to do with the mandated support of the NHS doctors, says the Prime Minister.

“With a Joint Ministerial Decision signed today, we are establishing an additional financial incentive to attract and retain doctors in troubled or barren areas. This new allowance, depending on the category of the area where the doctor will practice, starts from 200 euros and for specific specialties can reach up to 600 euros per month”.

“I have said many times – and I won’t get tired of saying it – that supporting the National Health Service is our first priority. We have to deal with pathogens of years. But we will not stop striving for a better NHS, worthy of the expectations of all citizens” he finally notes.

At the same time, Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis announced in detail the incentives for attracting and keeping NHS doctors in problematic and barren lines, who informed that the Joint Ministerial Decision had been signed and sent for publication in the Official Gazette.

In KYA, the financial incentives are specified, while the problematic and barren lines of category A’ and B” are defined.

According to the KYA, to the doctors/dentists of the NHS sector who serve in health structureswhich are based in problematic and infertile areas of category A’, a monthly financial incentive of attraction and retention of €300 is paid and in problematic and infertile areas of category B’, a monthly financial incentive of attraction and retention of €200 is paid.

To the doctors of the NHS branch of the specialties: internal medicine, general/family medicine, paediatrics, anesthesiology, nephrology,
pathological anatomy, radiology, medical biopathology/laboratory medicine, child and adolescent psychiatry, cytology, pathological oncology, as well as b) the specialties of pulmonology-tuberculology, neurosurgery, neurology, surgery, pediatric surgery, thoracic surgery and cardiology serving in adult ICUs/ children, is paid in addition to the previous monthly financial incentive of three hundred and 300 euros, if they serve in a problematic and barren area of ​​category A and b) in addition to the previous financial incentive of 200 euros, if they serve in a problematic and barren area of ​​category B.

Today, doctors who serve in a barren area of ​​category A receive an annual financial incentive of €800-1000, while in an area of ​​category B they receive an annual financial incentive of €500. Notably, it was calculated as an increase on the basic salary in force on 31.12.1996.

With the new MOU signed today:

(a) Doctors/dentists of the NHS sector who serve in health structures, which are based in problematic and barren areas of category A’, will receive, in addition to their basic salary, €3,600 gross per year and in case the doctor holds one of the 18 specialties, €7,200.

(b) Doctors/dentists in the Social Security sector who serve in health structures, which are based in problematic and barren areas of category B, will receive, in addition to their basic salary, €2,400 gross per year and in case the doctor holds one of the 18 specialties €4,800.