Coronavirus – “People die before they can enter the ICU” in Thessaloniki hospitals

The president of the employees of the general hospital “Papageorgiou”, Panagiotis Touchtidis, characterizes the images that are observed daily in the hospitals of Thessaloniki as “warlike”.

Speaking to SKAI tv he stated that “we have reached situations reminiscent of last year” noting that in several hospitals in the city there are intubated patients outside the ICU with portable respirators.

“Currently in Papageorgiou we have 41 intubated patients in ICU, MAF and one in a single bed with a ventilator and a portable monitor”, he points out. In fact, he points out that only 7% -8% are vaccinated and the rest are unvaccinated.

At the same time, Mr. Touchtidis said that mortality has increased, as patients arrive in hospitals very late. “Even though they are younger and you expect them to develop better, this is not the case. People go to the ICU to avoid dying. “Many may not have time to be intubated, dying at the time of the examination, at the time of their transfer, many may end up in an ordinary ward while showing a good picture”, he stated characteristically.

Regarding the staff shortages in the hospital, he states that before Covid, around 250 employees were already missing, while now 168 people are on suspension.

“A way must be found to persuade them to be vaccinated and to return. To return 7,000 people to the NHS with daily tests requires man-hours, reagents, consumables, which are not always available”, he concludes.

Sixth finger: Private doctors are added to the system

For his part, the president of the Panhellenic Medical Association and member of the Committee of Experts, Athanasios Exadaktylos, states that new private doctors are constantly being added to the system, noting that the issue is not numerical, but is related to the experience and specialties of doctors. For example, a new Covid clinic was opened at Agios Pavlos Hospital, which is staffed only by people who came from the private sector. “This is more important than finding five people who can not do this job.”

He added that the country’s intensivists are under tremendous pressure whether they work privately or in the public system, as the private sector has been receiving non-Covid incidents from the public sector for days.

As for the course of the pandemic, he estimates that “we are at the top of the mountain, but it can not be ruled out that there will be no resurgence later.”

Asked if the measures taken are enough, he points out that “they are not taken to persuade the unvaccinated to be vaccinated, but to protect them”, stressing that “we, the doctors, do not convince them, but death convinces them”.

To limit the spread, however, he noted that all citizens, vaccinated and unvaccinated, should wear a mask and avoid mixing mainly with strangers.