“The Ministry of Health takes the lion’s share of hiring every year. Out of the 10,000 hires in 2025, we got 5,000 and all the rest went to the entire remaining state,” clarified Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, while emphasizing that “the image of a collapsing ESY is not true.” As he also said, “if you add up the total, we have the most staff in history. If you count only permanent employees we are lower, if you count all forms of employment we are at our best.”
He also admitted that “we have a nursing staff deficit” but committed that “as long as I am minister, no auxiliary staff will leave the ESY, we will continuously renew their contracts.” He explained, in parallel, that “with the incentives we established this year, vacancies in regional health centers have been covered by 82%” committing that “we are making hires and will continue to make them.”
Georgiadis: In 2024 it took 3 months to find an appointment with a doctor contracted with EOPYY, now it takes 2 days
He characterized himself as “blessed” that “my second term coincided with the opportunity from the recovery fund for upgrading and renovation projects.”
“The ESY that I will deliver will be the best we have ever had and one of the highlights is the TEPs,” he said in this context. Referring to responses from patient questionnaires, Mr. Georgiadis said “this self-assessment system will help us move away from the perception that we have a terrible public health system. The responses we received from users are completely opposite to the image, they show us what we need to improve, not everything is praiseworthy. In 2024 it took 3 months to find an appointment with a doctor contracted with EOPYY, now it takes 2 days.”
“Billionaire on Aegean island saved by ESY”
A story that according to him describes the “stunning success story of ESY” with a billionaire tourist who was seriously injured in a traffic accident on an Aegean island and was saved by doctors at the Health Center where he was transferred, was also described by Mr. Georgiadis.
As he said on SKAI, “the billionaire arrived as a polytrauma patient, they stabilized him at the Health Center and began the transfer process. His associates said he has private insurance, ‘a helicopter will come with our own doctors.’ The doctors came with a private helicopter and refused to take him, saying ‘this man will die.'”
“We then sent the EKAB flying ambulance that was donated and the two doctors from the Health Center who treated the tourist traveled with him to Athens,” added the Health Minister.
He even revealed that “during the flight they had to resuscitate him twice.”
“The billionaire was admitted to a major public hospital, underwent surgery last night, and is being treated in ICU where he is stabilized,” added Mr. Georgiadis.
As he said, finally, “I spoke with his son in London and he told me he was impressed by the treatment from ESY doctors.”
