Afternoon surgeries at public hospitals to begin immediately, Georgiadis says

A decision launching the operation of afternoon surgeries at Greece’s public National Health System (NHS) hospitals will be signed immediately, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said while presenting the plan on Monday. He clarified that the plan does not amount to a privatisation of the system, which will continue to offer the traditional, state-funded healthcare during the mornings. “We are not privatising the national health system. One would have to be a fool to think we don’t need the NHS. Our purpose is to strengthen the NHS and strengthen its public character. We love the NHS, this is what we seek to take care of and work for,” Georgiadis underlined. “Afternoon surgeries were my priority from the beginning,” the health minister emphasised and added: “We are not telling hospitals today that in a month you will introduce afternoon surgeries. We are asking them to tell us who can and who wants to. The decision will be made jointly by the clinics and the hospital administration.” “We are providing an additional outlet to a person who wants to pay a reasonable cost to be operated on as soon as possible,” Georgiadis said. As the Minister of Health pointed out, the afternoon surgeries will be done transparently, at a much lower cost than in the private sector, and attention will be paid to detail. 

Option of afternoon surgeries at public hospitals to begin immediately, Georgiadis says https://t.co/Zt3vRqNJGh pic.twitter.com/eTtUOJ2bEX

— ANA-MPA news (@amna_newseng) February 19, 2024