Galery

1

It sounds quite incredible, but it is true from beginning to end. On 15 May, an order by Secretary General of the Ministry of Health Pelopidas Kaliris cancelled the appointment of the Director of General Medicine of the multifunctional regional hospital on Skyros Island, as it had been established that his diploma was fake.

The fake doctor, Photo: realnews.gr

Mayor of the island Miltiadis Hadziyiannakis informed about the case in January, through Mega TV channel, and there has been no trace of the "doctor" in question to this day.

He is Ioannis Kastanis who obtained a fake diploma from La Sapienza University in Rome. He managed to legalize it through the national agency for the recognition of diplomas in Greece and to advance to the post of director of the health centre in Skyros though it.

His diploma was submitted to the Ministry of Health in 1999 and the "doctor" performed his duties undisturbed until July 2013. The decision to appoint the fake doctor director of the health centre in Skyros was published on 17 January 2000, having taken into account the approval of the secretary of the Ministry of the time.

In the following 13 years, until 2013, when he was director of the centre, the presence of the "doctor" was everything but discreet, since, as rumour has it, he had a Ferrari car and private jet.

The strangest thing, however, is that one citizen was the first to inform the Ministry of Health about the "doctor". An inspection carried out by the Health Inspectorate established that the University in Rome had issued no diploma to a doctor of that name.

In addition to the fact that all his certificates are fake, Kastanis has three security numbers and three identification cards. The record of the alleged doctor in the Ministry of Health has disappeared and he himself has not appeared at his workplace since July 2013.

Checks of high school diplomas

Currently the Ministry of Health is searching for people employed in the health sector on the basis of fake diplomas, as, probably, they are unsuitable for the positions they are occupying.

Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis said, "Since the end of 2013, following the order of Secretary Pelopidas Kaliris and by my order, the services at the Ministry of Health have initiated a thorough check of the authenticity of diplomas. We have started with hospital directors and we will continue with all employees in the Ministry of Health and in its line structures. At this stage, our efforts are already yielding results." The Minister added that another director had been removed for the same reason.

"As is clear, we have detected the same violation in other parts of the country as well. We will then proceed to check out the diplomas for foreign languages ​​in order to complete the process by checking all the people who are working for us," added Georgiadis.

Asked by a journalist whether there is a risk for patients’ health or a problem in terms of the safety of their treatment, the Minister stressed,

"We have established that the phenomenon is not so widely spread and there are no reasons for concern. Nevertheless, we have to find those who have deceived the Greek state by presenting fake diplomas. You understand that there is an additional risk, especially in the field of health care. A man with a fake diploma, and I do not mean the most striking case on Skyros Island, as well as similar cases relating to the medical staff are certainly more serious."

In connection with the case on Skyros Island, Minister Georgiadis said that the verification procedure of Kastanis’ documents started two years ago following the information provided by a citizen.

Asked whether the services of the "doctor" had exposed someone to risk, the Minister of Health said that "no such fact has been established so far" but the inspection is ongoing.

"It seems that the doctor was disproportionately rich and the ongoing check aims to establish how he had obtained his wealth. In every case, all will be checked by the end of the year," said Georgiadis.
 
In turn, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health Pelopidas Kaliris pointed out that "inspections have started of all who are working at the Ministry of Health", adding, "In addition to the diplomas for higher education we are checking high school diplomas as well. There are some cases of fake high school diplomas too. The relevant procedures have been triggered. There are cases of criminal liability that have been sent to the prosecutor. The check of all who are working at the Ministry of Health and its line structures will be completed by the end of 2014."