PASOK’s Androulakis highlights ‘paradoxical’ aspects of government’s personal doctor laws

Opposition PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis on Wednesday referred to what he called "paradoxical" aspects of the new law for personal doctors promoted by the government, which he said will shake the public's faith in the primary healthcare system

Opposition PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis on Wednesday referred to what he called “paradoxical” aspects of the new law for personal doctors promoted by the government, which he said will shake the public’s faith in the primary healthcare system.

Speaking to the breakfast television programme “Koinonia Ora Mega”, Androulakis said the inclusion of doctors that had not yet completed their internship and residency in order to reach numerical targets was problematic, noting that this was not the case in any other European country, as was the inclusion of doctors performing compulsory rural service, who would then leave after a couple of years.

He also questioned the inclusion of private practitioners without an EOPYY contract, whom patients would then be obliged to pay out of their own pocket.

“This institution is based on the citizen’s trust toward the doctor, who has his medical file and guides him based on his medical history, while knowing how to handle the psychology of each patient,” PASOK’s leader said.

Androulakis also criticised the government’s reluctance to include healthcare staff in the list of unhealthy and demanding occupations that qualify for earlier retirement, despite the promises made during the pandemic, noting that incentives were needed to keep staff in the public health system.

He further criticised its failure to address the acute shortage of housing and high rents, while he called for the involvement of the social partners in setting the minimum wage through collective bargaining, highlighting the EU goal to have 80% of salaries set by collective labour agreements.