The Greek Minister of health, Mariliza Ksenoianakopoulou, is planning for cut in spending for inter-system commissions that are of no significant help for actual improvements of the health system services and on the contrary- creating unnecessary expense. The minister is also planning the opening of 3000 new work places for nurses during the next three years all around Greece.
Ksenoianakopoulou announced that public hospitals will begin to pay off their debts to suppliers of medicines and materials. The liabilities add up to €6.2b as was revealed at a meeting between the Health Minister and journalists. The repay is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year and will cover the major part of the debt. The amount spent for public hospitals’ liabilities will be included as an expense for the budget of 2010.
The current situation in health-care was defined by Minister Ksenoianakopoulou as “tragic,” financially and organizationally, with two leading characteristics- non-transparency and corruption. She made a commitment to introduce order in the Health Ministry financial problems and announced the forthcoming launch of a joint Financial and Health Ministry commission. The procedure for suppliers selection is expected to change as well, as a new office dealing with the matter will be created.
The minister added that negotiations with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs are about to take place deciding about introducing free-of-charge round-the-clock service by the general practitioners, pediatricians and dentists. As a conclusion she expressed her dissatisfaction with non-compliance with the regulations prohibiting smoking on public places and promised for efficient measures to be undertaken in the near future against those that break the rules.
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