Parliamentary sessions continue and MPs are expected to vote on the health care bill after midnight. There were hot disputes in Parliament all day yesterday and the opposition parties insisted on its withdrawal. The doctors who occupied the Ministry of Health a few days ago organized a large demonstration from the Ministry to Parliament at noon on Wednesday. It was against reforms in health and bus drivers and teachers joined it.
IKA doctors continue to strike but pharmacists decided to stop their protests and to open the pharmacies. The Minister of Health agreed with them and introduced a provision in the bill saying that not many pharmacies would be permitted to open within 100 m around hospitals which troubled pharmacists the most.
All representatives of the participating doctors’ unions spoke at the rally outside the Ministry. The demonstration of doctors and students came to the Parliament where they handed a letter to a representative of the National Assembly. Later, after a few incidents with the police guarding the Parliament, doctors returned to their strike headquarters at the Ministry to hold a meeting and decide what will be the form their protests over the next days. They stated they were determined to continue the strikes after the vote on the bill and urged all MPs of medical background to vote against it. Alekos Alavanos – MP from the left coalition SYRIZA - spoke at the rally outside the Ministry. The doctors put on their white overalls and some had T-shirts with the image of the Minister of Health and the phrase: "Ave, Caesar, those who are about to die salute you."
The federation of hospital doctors announced that they would go on strike on Thursday too, and IKA doctors would strike until Friday for sure. Hospitals, health centres, emergencies and chronic diseases treatment centres will work with staff on duty between 11 am and 3 pm on Thursday. Hospital cash desks will close symbolically again on Thursday and patients will be examined for free between 8 am and 11 am.
As for the doctors' strikes people share different views. Some of them do not know and do not care why doctors go on strike. Others worry about the overall strikes. Third do not believe that the reform could reduce corruption. Mrs. Iota who has a small private business believes that all this chaos is to the detriment of ordinary people, while the VIPs will be all right. "The Ministry will never cope with giving money to the doctors under the counter. For example, you have a family doctor to examine you. You are satisfied with this doctor and pay him without a receipt in return. The doctor gives receipts to the new patients but you like an old patient will you dare to ask him a receipt? Or it will go through your mind "if I ask him a receipt won’t he change his attitude"?!
The 30-year-old Sofia who is a private employee believes that the reform is very positive because it will allow the insured at IKA to see other doctors who work with other health funds. "The layoffs and the reductions in health care costs made by the government will make people think that public health is not as good as it should be and they will resort increasingly to private doctors and clinics. I think this lies in the doctors’ protests against the privatization of the health care sector," said Sofia. According to her, there was a trend to reducing the quality of public health care services as in America and that’s why redundancies followed. "No one intended to make private health and pension insurances until recently while there are many people now who seriously think about this alternative. And because of changes in labour relations the insured at IKA will become more. All who remain unemployed are insured at IKA, private employees are also insured at IKA. So, why don’t other doctors who have contracts with other insurance funds begin to examine patients insured at IKA? But young doctors on duty at night are paid only 20 euros and they really need to be paid more. There is much unfairness. Why does an entrepreneur who has been paying higher health insurances all of his life can not continue to visit doctors from his health insurance fund after retiring? Why he is obliged to be transferred to IKA!? "
Doctors’ demands are for funding and improving the national health system services by canceling the fee of 5 euros payable for external hospital consulting rooms and for emergencies, the required number of staff doctors to be appointed immediately, a new general scheme for salaries payment to be developed and salaries to be increased, wages for duties during holidays and at night to be doubled and the profession to be included in the list of heavy and unhealthy occupations.
According to the data from the first health district, 2.4 percent or 526 doctors from a total of 21,458 doctors in hospitals and health centres were on strike all over Greece. According to the data of first health district in Attica, 2.2 percent or 155 people out of 6954 doctors took part in the strike.
The Health Minister Andreas Loverdos having made the amendments to the bill after the dialogue in Parliament and with the committee on economic and social affairs stated that the government would keep its promises and would finally support the establishment of primary health care. Loverdos noted that the bill aimed to bring health services closer to citizens.
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