Kilkis Hospital / The pathology clinic is collapsing, doctors warn

With steady steps proceeds dismantling the public health system from Mitsotakis government.

“The collapse of the Pathology Clinic at G. Hospital Kilkis is now a fact”, reports the Kilkis G. Hospital Workers Union and the Kilkis Hospital Physicians Association.

As they note in their announcement appeals them the previous period for the dramatic situation which prevailed in Pathological clinic were not listened to by the agencies involved, with the result that it is just before its collapse.

From September 2023 they warned, as they point out, about the understaffing of this particular clinicwith the resignation of the private doctor and with the new resignation requests of the two permanent doctors with the visible risk of suspending the operation of the Pathology clinic, but without any result.

At the same time they emphasize that “due to understaffing, other departments of the Kilkis Hospital, such as the Anesthesiology department, are also facing problems with documents notified to the Hospital Administration, the Director of the Medical Service and the Scientific Council dated 21/9/2023 for moving anesthesiologist in the Hippocrates Hospital of Thessaloniki and again for the state formed at Department of Anesthesiology of our Hospital with date 5/10/2023 which is communicated to the Workers’ Union and the Kilkis Hospital Physicians’ Union”.

“The cardiology clinic of the Hospital is facing similar issues us, as they now serve three permanent specialist Cardiologists, while the assistant physician left for a permanent position at the Goumenissa Hospital, while a second permanent Cardiologist accepted a permanent position at the Hippocracy of Thessaloniki and is leaving soon”, they point out. In addition, they state that “deficiencies also exist in nursing staff which has been highlighted in order to find a solution, unfortunately to date no solution has been provided.”

The announcement in detail

“In the previous period (Meeting of Agencies September 2023), he warned and informed all the agencies involved about the dramatic situation that prevailed in the Pathology clinic, with its operation, being on the verge of collapse, since it had run out of specialist pathologists due to the continuous resignations (2 specialist pathologists) and retirements (3 specialist pathologists).

The hospital doctors of the clinic, after the dramatic appeals about the exterminating working conditions, overwork, warnings about the unsafe operation and the risk of collapse of the Pathology clinic, tried with a series of documents to highlight the problem of understaffing and to raise awareness of the Kilkis Hospital Administration and of the 4th Ministry of Health to take the necessary actions in time to launch solutions, had no effect.

In particular, the following documents were successively filed:

1) Document with No. Prot.: 12932 / 21-11-2022, which was notified to the Governor of G. N. Kilkis, the Board of Directors of the Hospital, the Association of Hospital Physicians Kilkis and the Director of the Medical Service.

2) Document with No. Prot.: 3230 / 14-03-2023, which was communicated to the Director of the Medical Service, the Scientific Council, the Kilkis Hospital Physicians Association and the Director of the Pathology Clinic.

3) Document with No. Prot.: 4036 / 31-03-2023, which was sent to the Governor of G. N. Kilkis, the Association of Hospital Physicians Kilkis, the Scientific Council, the Workers’ Union and the Director of the Medical Service

4) Document with No. Prot.: 4037 / 31-03-2023, which was sent to the Governor of G. N. Kilkis, the Board of Directors of the Hospital, the Association of Hospital Physicians Kilkis, the Scientific Council, the Employees’ Union, the 4th Ministry of Health and the Director of Medicine Service.

These documents indicate:

a) the situation that develops due to understaffing of the Pathology clinic

b) the exhausting on-call programs of dubious legality, which lead to their mental and physical exhaustion

c) the obligation of the sole on-call pathologist to simultaneously cover the Pathology clinic, the Infectious Diseases (COVID-19) clinic located in the other wing of the Hospital, as well as the two corresponding T.E.P.

d) risks to hospital care and patient health due to understaffing

e) the resignation of the Director of the clinic from the crisis committee due to mental, mental and physical fatigue, due to the understaffing of the Pathology clinic.

Our concerns about its operation were reinforced by the latest document shared with the Governor of G. N. Kilkis, the Board of the Hospital, the Kilkis Hospital Physicians Association, the Scientific Council, the Workers’ Union, the 4th Ministry of Health and the Director of Medical Service dated 11/09/2023 and No. Prot.: 10268, which referred to the resignation of the second Pathologist, so the operation of the Pathology Clinic was impossible to continue with only the remaining director pathologist.

In the organization of G. N. Kilkis, 7 organic positions of specialist pathologists are foreseen. Unfortunately, recently in our Hospital the Pathology clinic has been operating with 2 permanent specialist doctors, who are now in a borderline condition due to the continuous calls (of which one recently filed a second resignation with No.: Prot.: 3235/19 /3/2024), with a medical pathologist with the rank of Director of the Blood Donation department with an internal three-month transfer (on assignment) with a medical pathologist seconded from the K.Y. Drosatou (where he holds a permanent position) with a medical pathologist with a transfer from EFKA Kilkis, while the private medical pathologist who was on duty with a service card (pad) recently resigned and offers his services at the KY Goumenissa Hospital, while the call for interest for a private pathologist had no interest, resulting in the collapse of the Pathology clinic, while the vigilance programs are deemed unsafe.

The dramatic shortages of medical staff in the Pathology Clinic, the continuous transfers of pathologists from the Health Centers and the KY Goumenissa Hospital, the internal transfers and the continuous delegations, were the solutions that were selected by the Administrations of the Kilkis General Hospital and the 4th Health Department. they had no effect and led to further resignations.

The concerns we expressed in the previous period about the operation of the Pathology clinic are unfortunately confirmed by the resignations of the 2 specialist pathologists.

In particular, the pathologist with the rank of Director in the Blood Donation department of the Hospital warned us about the ongoing exhausting on-calls with a series of documents:

1) Document to the Commander of the 4th Ministry of Health dated 8/9/2023 in which he refers to exhausting forced labor with continuous orders, leading to mental and physical fatigue.

2) Document to the Governor’s Office dated 8/9/2023 in which he refers to the weekly schedule in accordance with current legislation.

The result was the internal movement of him by appointment for three months to the Pathology clinic, which led him to submit a resignation application with No. Prot.: 4125/ 8/4/2024.

A second resignation was also submitted by the second permanent specialist medical pathologist who is now in a borderline situation due to the exhausting hours and the continuous calls with No.: Prot.: 3235/19/3/2024

The scourge of the resignations of young doctors who held a permanent position in the Pathology clinic, in order to seek better working conditions, the retirements of the last three years during the pandemic, the resignations of specialist doctors who continue to complete their specialization in tertiary hospitals, in connection with the ongoing and long-term understaffing of medical staff at the G. Hospital of Kilkis, results in the qualitative and quantitative reduction of health services provided to patients, the tragic degradation of working conditions and the burnout of medical and nursing staff.

The shortages in the Pathology Clinic of the Hospital result in the suspension of the Regular Pathology and Diabetic Clinic, which deprives the provided health services and increases the suffering of the patients. In addition, the autonomous Emergency Department, which shows a significant increase in the number of patients after the end of the pandemic, operates under the supervision of doctors with a specialty in General Medicine who come from the Health Centers and Outpatient Clinics in order to cover the on-call vacancies that arise. whereas, according to the Hospital’s organization, 4 doctors of different specialties should serve in the Emergency Department.

The understaffing of the Computed Tomographer, who is not on duty every day of the month, creates an additional burden on the diagnostic examinations of the Pathology clinic, with the result that many times patients who need a CT scan are transferred to Thessaloniki Hospitals for a diagnostic CT scan necessary for the Pathologists with result in making their work even more difficult. Accordingly, the understaffing in the Radiology department by operators of radiology machines according to their document dated 9/11/2023, results in the corresponding radiology machines not working in Regular Orthopedic Clinics, with the result that for a diagnostic X-ray the patients, the injured who will have to go through the entire Hospital, while many times the transport is undertaken by the attendants, transporting their patients themselves to avoid inconvenience and delays for an examination. To date, no solution has been provided.

Due to understaffing, other departments of our Hospital are also facing problems where they are warned with documents about their general operation, such as in the Anesthesiology department with documents that are shared with the Hospital Administration, the Director of the Medical Service and the Scientific Council on 21/9/ 2023 for the transfer of an anesthesiologist to the Hippocrates Hospital of Thessaloniki and again for the situation in the Anesthesiology Department of our Hospital dated 5/10/2023 which is communicated to the Workers Union and the Association of Hospital Doctors of Kilkis and points out that while the organic positions are 7 , only two permanent doctors serve (plus one on sick leave), while on-call vacancies are filled by transfers.

The cardiology clinic of our hospital is also facing similar issues, as three permanent specialist cardiologists are now serving, while the assistant physician left for a permanent position at the Goumenissa Hospital, while a second permanent cardiologist accepted a permanent position at the Hippocracy of Thessaloniki and is leaving soon, while the shortages in nursing staff who have been flagged in order to find a solution, unfortunately to date no solution has been provided.

Unfortunately, we find every day that the Public Health System is led with mathematical precision to collapse, while at the same time the medical and nursing staff leave the NHS in search of better working conditions.

We demand the immediate reinforcement with permanent recruitment of the Pathology clinic, in order to improve the health services provided”.