Greek doctors and
health workers have taken to the streets in the capital, Athens, to
voice their outrage at the country’s harsh austerity program, Press TV reports.
On Friday, striking doctors and medical employees gathered at the Greek Health Ministry in central Athens for the second time this week to protest the government’s planned health cuts.
The protesters are also angry at the Greek government’s plan to amalgamate several state hospitals in the capital; a measure that will see at least 3,000 medical workers lose their jobs.
In an interview with Press TV, Giorgos Patoulis, the president of Athens Medical Association, who was among the demonstrators, criticized the government’s “lack of strategy on healthcare.”
“The government is improvising with no political or fiscal vision. Meanwhile, doctors are not getting paid and the life of patients is at risk. The troika [of international lenders] is deciding on our healthcare without having the faintest idea of the country’s realistic needs,” said Patoulis.
The Greek government also plans to shut down six major hospitals and three psychiatric institutions in Athens. In response, doctors say they will continue their strike until at least December 9.
Mihalis Giannakos, secretary of the Public Hospital Workers Union, told press TV that the closure of major psychiatric hospitals in Athens will hurt the “most vulnerable Greek patients,” stressing, “They cannot afford healthcare. They will soon be populating benches and subway terminals.”
The debt-ridden country has imposed steep slashes on healthcare and social services since being bailed out by other eurozone states and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2010.
Athens has promised its international creditors that it will cut 4,000 state jobs and put 25,000 civil servants on a redeployment scheme by the end of 2013.
On November 27, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Greece will remain mired in recession in 2014 for a seventh straight year, and will likely need additional financial aid.
MKA/SS
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