Greek doctors strike to protest “miserable” state of public hospitals
ATHENS — Hospital doctors in Greece gathered in the capital on Friday for the second day of a nationwide strike to protest what they describe as the “miserable” conditions in the country’s public healthcare system, affecting both patients and medical staff.
“The patients are suffering. Their lives are being put at risk by the deficiencies of the public hospital system,” said the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers (POEDHN) in a statement, adding that staff are operating under “inhuman pressure” and facing burnout.
Doctors and health workers responded to the call of the Federation of Hospital Doctors’ Unions (OENGE) and demonstrated outside the Ministry of Health in Athens. They denounced the severe staff shortages in public hospitals and the low wages and harsh working conditions that discourage young professionals from joining the public sector.
The Greek public health system, weakened by years of austerity and budget cuts during the financial crisis (2008–2018), continues to suffer from chronic underfunding. According to 2022 data, Greece spends 8.5% of its GDP on health, below the EU average of 10.4%.
“What is miserable is not only our working reality but also what patients face daily,” said Yiannis Galanopoulos, president of OENGE. He questioned whether it was acceptable that “patients are being treated in hospital corridors” due to a shortage of available beds, and accused the conservative government of attempting to run hospitals like private companies in order to reduce future public spending on healthcare.
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