The recent outcry from workers at the Corfu General Hospital has prompted a strong reaction from pensioner organizations representing IKA, Public Sector, and OAEE retirees in Corfu. These groups, who daily experience the ‘tragic’ state of the island’s sole public healthcare provider, are issuing a vehement protest to all responsible parties: ministries, local and regional authorities, hospital administration, members of parliament, and ultimately, the government. Their grievance centers on the widespread degradation of the Public Health System across Greece, with the Corfu Hospital serving as a stark example.
The Right to Healthcare: A Fading Promise
The provision of high-quality, completely free healthcare services to all citizens, without exception, is an inalienable right. No politician, no government, has the right to undermine or exploit it. Yet, Greece’s National Health System is in a state of collapse. Clinics are closed, surgeries are scheduled months in advance, and there is a severe shortage of medical and nursing staff. Patient transfers force individuals and their companions to travel, incurring immense health and financial burdens. Health centers are either shut down or operating at minimal capacity, compelling citizens to turn to the General Hospital even for minor incidents, further straining the already problematic operations of the only public hospital on the entire island of Corfu.
Government’s ‘Achievements’ Amidst Crisis
What is the government doing about this enormous problem? Through its ‘unqualified’ Minister of Health, it engages in grandiose announcements, presenting a completely different picture from reality. The Minister’s latest ‘achievement’ is a mobile application that supposedly allows patients to easily and simply access the hospital and their chosen doctor, without waiting or struggling with phone calls. Furthermore, they advertise home delivery of medicines via courier. These are the Minister’s boasts. However, we are all too familiar with the state’s true treatment of sick pensioners and the entire populace.
The mockery, criminal indifference, and arrogance of the government towards the patients and citizens of this country have reached a breaking point. It is inconceivable that billions are spent daily on military machinery, that large private enterprises in banking, supermarkets, and energy companies are subsidized, while no funds are allocated to public health. Financial resources from the European Union are squandered on wealthy individuals who claim to be farmers and livestock breeders, while public hospitals in Greece, like the one in Corfu, are disintegrating. They lack medical and nursing staff, infrastructure, and doctors’ and nurses’ salaries are unacceptably low.
Why Doctors Shun Corfu: Beyond Rent Prices
Regarding the shortage of doctors at the Corfu Hospital, the administration claims to have taken all necessary steps for hirings, but doctors are not responding. It is clear that the problem will not be solved unless doctors’ and nurses’ salaries are increased, the housing problem (finding affordable housing) is resolved, organic positions are significantly increased, and the costs of travel to and from the island are lowered. Most importantly, however, the overall policy for the National Health System must change. It is not solely the high rents that deter doctors from coming to Corfu, as the problem persists even in cities with cheaper rents.
The Greek people have been left to their fate, hoping they will never need to visit a public health facility. This is not due to a lack of competence among doctors and nurses, but rather to the government’s abysmal public health policy.
Demands for a Dignified Future
We demand:
- Immediate recruitment of staff based on the hospital’s organizational chart.
- Adequate material and technical infrastructure in hospitals and health centers.
- Proper functioning of health centers and the reopening of those that have closed.
- Immediate and substantial salary increases for hospital staff.
- Free healthcare and medicines for all citizens, provided by Public Health Structures.
The aforementioned associations declare that we will stand by the workers of the Corfu General Hospital and will escalate our protests, with the next one scheduled for the end of January. We are fighting for the self-evident rights that the government denies us daily. Public, free healthcare concerns everyone, and if we do not demand it, there is no chance it will be granted. We call on all the people of Corfu to actively participate in any mobilization for the Hospital; otherwise, we will allow the National Health System to collapse.
The text is signed by the presidents of the OAEE, IKA, and Public Sector Pensioners’ Associations, on behalf of their Administrative Boards:
- Liveri Sofia – IKA
- Charalambous Babis – Political Pensioners (Public Sector)
- Bouchagiar Sotiris – OAEE
