We will begin this article with a basic observation regarding the
chronic condition prevailing in the public health system. This is none
other than the chronic underestimation that characterizes the E.S.Y.,
the underfunding, the understaffing, the lack of infrastructure and
equipment and the tarnished image presented by the state hospitals. This
condition is known to all of us who have had to be hospitalized,
examined, have an operation or rush to a state hospital for all of the
above for a relative or friend. There we have come face to face with all
the above deficiencies and inadequacies, as well as the long delays, the
months-long waiting lists for surgeries and examinations that
characterize the E.S.Y. and which unfortunately have been fatal for the
life and health of many people. Health workers (doctors, nurses,
paramedics, etc.) know this condition better than all of us who struggle
every day to be able to do their jobs, while at the same time the
majority of them have to deal with grueling hours, low wages as and some
of them the insecurity of the fixed-term contract regime and the
non-permanence of their positions.
The turning point for the extreme degradation of the public health
system was the period of the memorandums starting in 2010 until today.
The E.S.Y., pharmaceutical costs and over-indebted insurance funds, the
resources from which were used to buy bonds, were targeted by austerity
policies. Over the years, public funding for health has been greatly
reduced and everything has been geared towards reducing operating
costs: hospitals have been closed or merged with others, the use of
medical devices that were costly to the public coffers has been
restricted, while purchases of basic medical supplies and equipment
decreased, creating major shortages. At the same time, in the context of
the cuts in pharmaceutical costs and insurance benefits, the number of
drugs covered by public insurance decreased, while the "participation"
for medical examinations increased.
Health workers who were faced with reductions in their salaries, mass
layoffs, understaffing (eg the memorandum measure of hiring one employee
for every five who leave or retire) were repeatedly targeted by the
memoranda policies ). All this has led on the one hand to extreme rates
of work intensification and to the professional burnout of employees and
on the other hand has resulted in many hospitals, prominently those in
the province, being under-functioning and hospital units being closed
due to the lack of specialized staff.
If we consider all of the above, we can reasonably come to the
conclusion that health management is done in terms of cost- benefit
and not based on social needs and the value of human life. The condition
of waiting for months for an examination or an operation, as a result
of which in many cases you are forced to resort to private hospitals
paying heavily , the condition of not having ICUs to be hospitalized,
the condition of having to pay exorbitant amounts either as
participation or entirely for necessary medication certainly does not
refer to a health that is perceived as a public good accessible to all.
In the midst of all this, over the years we have seen the attempt by all
governments to shift the cost of public health onto our backs: from
Georgiadis' 5 euros for hospital admissions to the increase in workers'
insurance contributions by Katrougalos .
In this situation that we described in rough lines above, the
manifestation of the COVID-19 pandemic found the E.S.Y, which, being
in a collapsing state, was, as was logical, unable to respond to the
needs that existed. We all remember, especially during periods of
outbreak, that patients are piled up in hospitals, that ICUs are full,
with the result that patients are intubated in simple wards and there is
a "sorting" for who will enter the ICU, that the health staff is not
sufficient even for example, and at the same time under the enormous
pressure of the pandemic, the rest of the operation of the hospitals
freezes with planned surgeries being canceled and the operation of the
outpatient clinics in many hospitals being suspended.
In the face of all this, from the side of the state administration,
there was no substantial strengthening of the E.S.Y and as a "solution"
the opening-closing with successive rolling lockdowns was used as a
"solution" which was applied according to the needs of the economy and
the demand per season in specific sectors (eg during the tourist season
we had "we are open and we are waiting for you") and when the health
system reached its limits the measures were returned. We are talking
about a political management of a combination of restraining the smooth
functioning of the capitalist market and defraying the political costs
of a huge increase in deaths and hospitalizations that the collapsed
health system could not manage.
The criminal management of the pandemic, both domestically and globally,
rang a bell about the very nature of the state and capitalism,
highlighting the contradictions of the system. The consequences of
criminal state management should not be forgotten, as it is certain that
under different circumstances many of the human lives that were lost
could have been saved. The choices made are not the product of
government negligence or incompetence, but conscious choices based on
the priorities dictated by state and capitalist normality. So, while the
hospitals were collapsing without infrastructure, at the same time of
the great intensity of the pandemic, packages of billions were announced
for the purchase of military equipment, while the recruitment of health
personnel was more imperative than ever , in the time of the great
intensity of the pandemic, thousands of new positions were announced for
the police. It is characteristic that after the worst month of the
pandemic with the most cases and deaths, in November 2020, a few months
later the budget voted for 2021 included the reduction of funding for
health, while during the pandemic hospitals were reinforced with only
321 permanent health personnel. In particular, for the health workers,
all that was reserved by the state policy was the famous applause, the
media reports about "heroes on the front line" and then the absolute
indifference, the concealment of their claims and the suppression of
their mobilizations.
Today, after the great wave of the pandemic subsided and the shock it
caused in terms of health benefits, making their enormous problems more
obvious than ever, has anything really changed in relation to what we
mentioned above? The answer comes again from the reality itself and
states that the state policy continues to maintain the same situation
and even proceeds on the path of further commercialization and
degradation in the health and the exsanguination of the workers in the
sector. According to the workers themselves, this winter the staff at
the hospitals is 3000 less than last year, which is due to the wave of
mass flight of workers who, under the regime of low wages, exhausting
work rates and job insecurity, are leaving by hundreds per month from
the public health system. This condition, combined with zero
recruitment, creates huge gaps, while there is no intention on the part
of state policy to change. It is indicative that the recently passed
state budget for 2024, while anticipating increases of 1000 euros in the
salaries of hospital administrators (the so-called managers), the
increase in the particularly low salaries of health workers amounts to
less than 50 euros. At the same time, there is a systematic refusal on
the part of the government to make permanent the thousands of contract
holders who work under an insecurity regime with few month renewals or
termination of their contracts.
The only thing that has changed after the tragic consequences that the
pandemic brought to public health, are the most communicative appeals
from the side of all parties, regarding the improvement of health
benefits. Appeals that if we reflect on the actions of all parties in
power in previous years, as well as the recent attempted reforms in the
context of the creation of the "New E.SY." only shame and rage can
cause. From our side, we don't see anything "new" in E.S.Y. Government
funding for public health remains stuck at 5% of GDP, while private
spending (the money we put out of our pocket) on health is the highest
among EU countries. At the same time, with a series of bills that have
been passed recently, the further commercialization of health is
attempted. The latest bills, among other things, envisage the extension
of the application of PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships) to public
health agencies as well as within this framework the realization of paid
afternoon surgeries in state hospitals and the removal of the full and
exclusive employment of doctors at the E.S.Y., with the possibility of
private doctors working part-time at the E.S.Y. and doctors of the
E.S.Y. to work at the same time in the private sector, which with the
current conditions reinforces the shortages in hospital staff and
creates clientele (for those who have this possibility) for faster
services in private medical practices.
It is clear that the lines between free and paid health care are
becoming increasingly blurred. The acquisition of the health good is
carried out in clear class terms: if you have to pay you will have more
direct access and better benefits for your health, if you belong to the
great majority of society and do not have this financial ability you
will come face to face with the rajas in the inferior hospitals of the
E.S.Y., with the delays of months and you will tremble in case of need
if an ICU bed will be found for you to be hospitalized. It could not be
otherwise in this system that treats us, the working class and the poor,
as expendable and is not going to care about our survival, except to the
extent that we are useful for its reproduction.
INITIATIVE OF ANARCHIST SAINTS OF ANARCHY - KAMATEROU
https://anarchism.espivblogs.net/2024/03/11/i-chronia-dialysi-toy-systimatos-ygeias/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
chronic condition prevailing in the public health system. This is none
other than the chronic underestimation that characterizes the E.S.Y.,
the underfunding, the understaffing, the lack of infrastructure and
equipment and the tarnished image presented by the state hospitals. This
condition is known to all of us who have had to be hospitalized,
examined, have an operation or rush to a state hospital for all of the
above for a relative or friend. There we have come face to face with all
the above deficiencies and inadequacies, as well as the long delays, the
months-long waiting lists for surgeries and examinations that
characterize the E.S.Y. and which unfortunately have been fatal for the
life and health of many people. Health workers (doctors, nurses,
paramedics, etc.) know this condition better than all of us who struggle
every day to be able to do their jobs, while at the same time the
majority of them have to deal with grueling hours, low wages as and some
of them the insecurity of the fixed-term contract regime and the
non-permanence of their positions.
The turning point for the extreme degradation of the public health
system was the period of the memorandums starting in 2010 until today.
The E.S.Y., pharmaceutical costs and over-indebted insurance funds, the
resources from which were used to buy bonds, were targeted by austerity
policies. Over the years, public funding for health has been greatly
reduced and everything has been geared towards reducing operating
costs: hospitals have been closed or merged with others, the use of
medical devices that were costly to the public coffers has been
restricted, while purchases of basic medical supplies and equipment
decreased, creating major shortages. At the same time, in the context of
the cuts in pharmaceutical costs and insurance benefits, the number of
drugs covered by public insurance decreased, while the "participation"
for medical examinations increased.
Health workers who were faced with reductions in their salaries, mass
layoffs, understaffing (eg the memorandum measure of hiring one employee
for every five who leave or retire) were repeatedly targeted by the
memoranda policies ). All this has led on the one hand to extreme rates
of work intensification and to the professional burnout of employees and
on the other hand has resulted in many hospitals, prominently those in
the province, being under-functioning and hospital units being closed
due to the lack of specialized staff.
If we consider all of the above, we can reasonably come to the
conclusion that health management is done in terms of cost- benefit
and not based on social needs and the value of human life. The condition
of waiting for months for an examination or an operation, as a result
of which in many cases you are forced to resort to private hospitals
paying heavily , the condition of not having ICUs to be hospitalized,
the condition of having to pay exorbitant amounts either as
participation or entirely for necessary medication certainly does not
refer to a health that is perceived as a public good accessible to all.
In the midst of all this, over the years we have seen the attempt by all
governments to shift the cost of public health onto our backs: from
Georgiadis' 5 euros for hospital admissions to the increase in workers'
insurance contributions by Katrougalos .
In this situation that we described in rough lines above, the
manifestation of the COVID-19 pandemic found the E.S.Y, which, being
in a collapsing state, was, as was logical, unable to respond to the
needs that existed. We all remember, especially during periods of
outbreak, that patients are piled up in hospitals, that ICUs are full,
with the result that patients are intubated in simple wards and there is
a "sorting" for who will enter the ICU, that the health staff is not
sufficient even for example, and at the same time under the enormous
pressure of the pandemic, the rest of the operation of the hospitals
freezes with planned surgeries being canceled and the operation of the
outpatient clinics in many hospitals being suspended.
In the face of all this, from the side of the state administration,
there was no substantial strengthening of the E.S.Y and as a "solution"
the opening-closing with successive rolling lockdowns was used as a
"solution" which was applied according to the needs of the economy and
the demand per season in specific sectors (eg during the tourist season
we had "we are open and we are waiting for you") and when the health
system reached its limits the measures were returned. We are talking
about a political management of a combination of restraining the smooth
functioning of the capitalist market and defraying the political costs
of a huge increase in deaths and hospitalizations that the collapsed
health system could not manage.
The criminal management of the pandemic, both domestically and globally,
rang a bell about the very nature of the state and capitalism,
highlighting the contradictions of the system. The consequences of
criminal state management should not be forgotten, as it is certain that
under different circumstances many of the human lives that were lost
could have been saved. The choices made are not the product of
government negligence or incompetence, but conscious choices based on
the priorities dictated by state and capitalist normality. So, while the
hospitals were collapsing without infrastructure, at the same time of
the great intensity of the pandemic, packages of billions were announced
for the purchase of military equipment, while the recruitment of health
personnel was more imperative than ever , in the time of the great
intensity of the pandemic, thousands of new positions were announced for
the police. It is characteristic that after the worst month of the
pandemic with the most cases and deaths, in November 2020, a few months
later the budget voted for 2021 included the reduction of funding for
health, while during the pandemic hospitals were reinforced with only
321 permanent health personnel. In particular, for the health workers,
all that was reserved by the state policy was the famous applause, the
media reports about "heroes on the front line" and then the absolute
indifference, the concealment of their claims and the suppression of
their mobilizations.
Today, after the great wave of the pandemic subsided and the shock it
caused in terms of health benefits, making their enormous problems more
obvious than ever, has anything really changed in relation to what we
mentioned above? The answer comes again from the reality itself and
states that the state policy continues to maintain the same situation
and even proceeds on the path of further commercialization and
degradation in the health and the exsanguination of the workers in the
sector. According to the workers themselves, this winter the staff at
the hospitals is 3000 less than last year, which is due to the wave of
mass flight of workers who, under the regime of low wages, exhausting
work rates and job insecurity, are leaving by hundreds per month from
the public health system. This condition, combined with zero
recruitment, creates huge gaps, while there is no intention on the part
of state policy to change. It is indicative that the recently passed
state budget for 2024, while anticipating increases of 1000 euros in the
salaries of hospital administrators (the so-called managers), the
increase in the particularly low salaries of health workers amounts to
less than 50 euros. At the same time, there is a systematic refusal on
the part of the government to make permanent the thousands of contract
holders who work under an insecurity regime with few month renewals or
termination of their contracts.
The only thing that has changed after the tragic consequences that the
pandemic brought to public health, are the most communicative appeals
from the side of all parties, regarding the improvement of health
benefits. Appeals that if we reflect on the actions of all parties in
power in previous years, as well as the recent attempted reforms in the
context of the creation of the "New E.SY." only shame and rage can
cause. From our side, we don't see anything "new" in E.S.Y. Government
funding for public health remains stuck at 5% of GDP, while private
spending (the money we put out of our pocket) on health is the highest
among EU countries. At the same time, with a series of bills that have
been passed recently, the further commercialization of health is
attempted. The latest bills, among other things, envisage the extension
of the application of PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships) to public
health agencies as well as within this framework the realization of paid
afternoon surgeries in state hospitals and the removal of the full and
exclusive employment of doctors at the E.S.Y., with the possibility of
private doctors working part-time at the E.S.Y. and doctors of the
E.S.Y. to work at the same time in the private sector, which with the
current conditions reinforces the shortages in hospital staff and
creates clientele (for those who have this possibility) for faster
services in private medical practices.
It is clear that the lines between free and paid health care are
becoming increasingly blurred. The acquisition of the health good is
carried out in clear class terms: if you have to pay you will have more
direct access and better benefits for your health, if you belong to the
great majority of society and do not have this financial ability you
will come face to face with the rajas in the inferior hospitals of the
E.S.Y., with the delays of months and you will tremble in case of need
if an ICU bed will be found for you to be hospitalized. It could not be
otherwise in this system that treats us, the working class and the poor,
as expendable and is not going to care about our survival, except to the
extent that we are useful for its reproduction.
INITIATIVE OF ANARCHIST SAINTS OF ANARCHY - KAMATEROU
https://anarchism.espivblogs.net/2024/03/11/i-chronia-dialysi-toy-systimatos-ygeias/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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