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Marina Nikolova

Hospitals need more doctors and for the health care applies the scheme 1/5 – for every five people who left their place of work only one is assigned, said in an interview for grreporter.info the member of the Administrative Board of the Athens Medical Association Sotiris Kaliambakos. Medics are not aware of how the new law will be applied and announced that they would take action.

Explain to me what will be the effect of the merger of hospitals and why did you claim to be against it?

Most notably the merger of hospitals is done in order to decrease staff. The reason is to decrease personnel, to decrease the total costs of the two hospitals that merge, which would in turn decrease the quality of services for people and will create a problem with the jobs of the employees. The only reason is to save costs, but at the burden of the working positions of the staff.

Most likely it's about an administrative merger of the hospitals that are close to each other. This probably will not affect the medical staff ...

The merger is intended to reduce costs. Costs can be reduced by cutting the costs of operation. Currently, hospitals are already in a very difficult situation. There is no staff that is in excess. If you look there is not enough staff to cover the positions of doctors and nurses that are limited, which the state has adopted to be constantly needed asnnumbers. The fact that health care is not excluded from the formula 1 to 5 – i.e. in five dismissals or retirements corresponds to one appointment, we will come to the conclusion that the staff will most likely decrease further. Someone may tell you that the merger is intended to have two close to each other hospitals share a single microbiological laboratory. This is my opinion. The law does not decide how will the merger be carried out to be honest. The truth is also that for the first time the Athens Medical Association was not aware of the final text of 135 pages, which on Wednesday was introduced in the parliament. Consider that the Athens Medical Association is the largest medical research organization in Greece, it has the greatest number of members and its opinion was never sought. So that the final text, which we were given, we have not handled - we were given only "drafts". And as a sign of protest against the Ministry of Health for it did not seek our opinion, we decided we had no requests for dialogue, we are not going to make demonstrations.

You do you agree with the supply system as it will apply?

I speak as a member of the Administrative Board of the Athens Medical Association - what I told you about the procedure for dialogue. There are views on the public supply, but because the union was not invited to a dialogue and did not have in their hands the text of the bill, we have not yet decided what position we hold on this matter. What I say is my personal opinion. On the subject of the procurement we have not reached a decision at the Athens Medical Association and I explained you for what reason.

Why is there on your part distance in regards to the unification of health insurance funds in a National Organization for the provision of health services?

The existence itself of an organization that will combine the funds, means nothing. Our disagreement is related to how will the resources be provided for the existence of this organization, what labor relations will the people working there have this is not clear. For example, what will happen to doctors from IKA, who will be transferred to this organization, what type of contracts they will have, everything is in the air. Furhtermore - this is my opinion, but most likely also the opinion of the union, this regulation is heading in another direction and it is related to privatization. Rumors are spread that perhaps the private owners will be able to take the offices of IKA, which does not mean that any medic will be able to take the office of IKA or that chain diagnostic centers will enter there which will be able to buy the offices. That means that we are heading towards a privatized health care without any restrictions. We are against this.

As far as I understood through this union of all funds in one organization the IKA clinics will be open to patients insured in the farm fund as well as to free professionals.

Yes, that is true. But where will the revenue go? They will most likely be open, but there is the likelihood of private doctors also working there. Moreover, what staff will serve the sick people? 1200 doctors were fired from IKA and so far it does not appear that those positions will be all filled, but rather only one fifth of them. The questions are how will patients set an appointment and after how long will it be scheduled? The most important thing is for us to have preconditions for this to happen, which do not exist.

These offices you are talking about are cases of academic physicians who will be obliged to move their private cabinets in the hospitals or is it about a different issue?

That is a different issue. But about that matter, which you brought up by a law during the governance of Minister Yanakopoulou they were obliged on January 1^st, 2011 to permanently close down their private offices. A few days ago there was a meeting between academic physicians and the ministry, and in fact they were given three-month deferral. Athens Medical Association is against this practice, what currently exists for university doctors to have private offices for many reasons. This is about unethical competition among doctors, also in this manner further privatization in health care is required. The main purpose of academic physicians is to educate students and instead of being dedicated to this mission, of course, with a payment which correspond to their higher degrees. But the state gives them the opportunity to have private rooms, and as a result of that very often hospitals and places where they work are becoming centers for their customers.

You had mentioned that the existence of small and medium-sized medical rooms is threatened, because health insurance funds have not yet paid them? What kind are mostly those doctors who are in danger of losing their job?

There are all specialties, but mostly laboratory assistants. They have equipment and they have to pay for it. Most at risk are doctors who are most in need of health insurance funds.