The six key changes to hospitals under the Ministry of Health's bill

Radical changes—not for the better—are expected in the coming period in hospitals citizens after the bill of Ministry of Health which was passed on Friday in Parliament.

A bill also known as Gaga Bill because it was the brainchild of the Deputy Minister of Health, a proposal that ultimately failed to gain the support of the medical community, the opposition parties, or many others «Blue» officials.

After all, the elections The elections are approaching, and there is concern that the negative impression citizens will form will be reflected at the polls.

That is why, according to information from ethnos.gr There have been intense protests recently «Blue» members of parliament at the Maximos Mansion, who were calling for the proposed changes to be withdrawn.

However, the bill now Gaga It is a law of the state and will in no way affect the Mina Gaga, since he is not a politician, but, as it turns out, he is just like everyone else.

Besides, the Changes It will move toward the privatization of the National Health System, with patients being the ones who stand to lose the most.

The main change to the National Health System

The most significant change in the ESY which will take effect immediately once the clarifying ministerial decisions are issued, concerns private clinics and private surgical centers that doctors in the National Health System will be able to do.

Those who also choose the private Union members are certain that this project will drive patients to private facilities for their own benefit.

As a result, citizens will be forced to pay out of their own pockets to receive immediate service, since the argument will be that there is Long wait at the National Health System.

This measure is likely to lead not only to induced demand for services but also to operating rooms.

However, it is not just private medical offices and operating rooms in private clinics that will now be officially permitted for doctors at ESY. A policy that has sparked a great deal of controversy within the healthcare system and among the relevant stakeholders.

The bill that was passed bill It also includes other changes that will bring about major upheavals in hospitals and healthcare.

Resident physicians on the move

New medical residents may even have to move to a different region in order to complete their training, as provided for in the bill which was passed in the Parliament.

A regulation that, it seems, instead of facilitating the Back, ...will drive even more young doctors abroad. After all, according to the relevant article, resident doctors will have to relocate—even to another region—to complete their training. This means that, given the low salaries they receive, they will have to move every so often.

Teachers with … extra perks

In addition to his doctors ESY, they will be free to perform surgeries at private clinics and, more generally, to work for private companies in the healthcare sector, under the Gagga bill that has been passed.

To date, the university faculty doctors They were only allowed to open a private practice after obtaining permission from the university, while continuing to issue receipts at the hospital.

Moreover, they will even be able to receive compensation as consultants for private-sector healthcare companies, even though this clearly creates a conflict of interest with public hospitals and the treatments they provide.

Conflict of interest with the teachers medicine For example, such a position might be created, and they might take a position at a medical supply company that serves hospitals, where medical professors themselves may be members of certain approval committees.

Private doctors in hospitals earn twice as much as their public counterparts

However, it is striking that the government passed a provision under which, in remote areas where there are so-called unfilled positions, that is, where doctor positions have been advertised many times but remain unfilled, part-time private practitioners will be able to work in ESY.

However, it is noteworthy that the government and the Ministry of Health intend to offer more than double the usual pay to private practitioners who agree to fill part-time positions, but they are not raising the salaries of the doctors at ESY staff who fill positions in remote areas.

This clearly demonstrates that the public system is not receiving the necessary support.

However, the solution proposed to fill the vacant positions also creates a two-tier system of doctors: those who will be part of the ESY and even those private-sector employees who receive a double salary through part-time work will be paid only minimal amounts.

Patient transport, including by private ambulance

Otherwise, the new law It clearly includes private individuals in the public system for patient transport, and it is unclear whether citizens will have to pay out of pocket in the future.

Specifically, in yet another provision, the Gaga Law provides that patient transfers following the completion of their hospitalization may also be carried out by the hospitals of the National Health System in which they are being treated. «To facilitate these transfers, hospitals within the National Health System may, on an auxiliary basis, enter into contracts with individuals or legal entities that own licensed private-sector ambulances.».

Standalone Emergency Departments (EDs) for large hospitals

Under the law, every large hospital will become an independent Emergency Department (ED).

Specifically, in each hospital with a capacity of more than 300 beds, as well as in the hospital with the largest capacity in each regional unit of the regions, a separate Emergency Department is established with specialized staff and equipment to effectively handleemergencies.

In every hospital with a capacity of fewer than 300 beds, regardless of whether it is the hospital with the largest capacity in a regional unit, a separate Emergency Department with specialized staff and equipment may be established, following a proposal by the Board of Directors of the hospital in question and a recommendation from the Health Regional Administration under whose jurisdiction it falls.

Dimitra Efthymiadou