Afternoon surgeries: A month of dubious results – 2024-04-17 18:36:34

The weighing of its effect first month of operation of the afternoon surgeries in regards to West Greece shows that it does not provide a solution for the waiting lists that exist. In our region, the institution was only applied to University Hospital of Patraswhere they were conducted on 15 operations (general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery and one cardiothoracic surgery). Accordingly to “Saint Andrew” no afternoon surgery has been performed, as well there is no availability from the nursing staff.

Nationwide, 76 clinics participate in the afternoon surgeries and up to the previous week a total of 288 operations had been performed.

The president of the PGNP Surgery Committee, director of anesthesiology Neli Sintou, speaking to “P” reported that “the program of afternoon surgeries that is implemented twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays – non-working days of the hospital – developed smoothly and without disrupting the regular morning schedule. Our medical staff fully complies with the conditions provided for by law. Of course, this is a new institution and it is possible that there will be omissions, which we correct with consultation and cooperation”.

THE PROTEST

The only dissonance recorded in our area was raised by Association of Hospital Doctors of Achaia (EINA) and concerns the cardiothoracic surgery that was performed last Thursday afternoon. And EINA’s objection consists in the fact that the Clinic in question “is on call for emergencies only four times a month, due to a lack of staff, endangering the people of the region who are forced to be served, wasting critical hours either in Ioannina or in Athens, at the risk of his life” and adds:

“In the recent announcement with 140 vacant organic positions in the two major hospitals of our prefecture, only 13 positions were announced, with the University Hospital operating with four closed operating rooms out of twelve, due to lack of staff. The same staff who cannot support a daily vigilance of the Cardiac Surgery Clinic, but who arrive to run the evening-paid operation.”

On behalf of the “Unified Collaboration of Doctors”-ESI, the director of Pulmonology and member of the Board of the Patras Medical Association Takis Georgakopoulos states: “Especially for the Cardiothoracic Surgery Clinic of the PGNP, we must say that this clinic, which was advertised by the former Minister of Health Mr. Kikilia as the “salvation” of the patients of Western Greece due to understaffing, deals with cases only 4 times a month, consequently the patients with cardiac surgery problems, either from the emergency department of the “Agios Andreas” hospital or from the emergency department of the PGNP, to be sent to hospitals in Athens or Ioannina… We call on the ministry to staff with the necessary staff (doctors, nurses), so that the Cardiac Surgery of the PGNP operates daily and safely and until then, the Ministry of Health must suspend the performance of Afternoon Surgeries”.

In this specific matter, there is of course the counterargument that has to do with the existence of a waiting list in specific cases, which should somehow be absorbed.

DOUBTFUL EFFECTIVENESS

For its part, its administration Medical Association of Patras in her announcement in general about afternoon surgeries she notes: “The operation of the afternoon surgeries is an operation of dubious efficiency, due to understaffing and heavy workload of the medical and nursing staff. The need to ensure equal access of all citizens to the surgical bed is imperative.”

STRENGTHEN THE STAFF

A constant request of the medical, nursing and other staff is to reinforce the hospitals with the necessary staff, so that all the operating theaters of the public hospitals can be put into operation. In this way, they estimate that the waiting lists will also be reduced. According to Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees40% of operating theaters are closed due to lack of staff.

FINANCING

The Ministry of Health estimates that a large reduction in the surgery list will result from the program of performing free evening surgeries for patients who have been waiting on the list for more than four months. The leadership of the ministry is waiting for the approval by the European authorities of the request to finance the program with the resources of the Recovery Fund, expressing optimism that it will be approved. However, in the event that this is not done, as the Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis recently stated from the floor of the Parliament, “we have agreed with the government that this action will be financed from the Public Investment Program”.

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