An alarm was raised at Attikon Hospital on Thursday morning (May 28) following the confirmed outbreak of norovirus-induced gastroenteritis within the hospital, with at least 25 cases.
In a post on social media, the Attikon General Hospital Employees’ Union notes:
“EMERGENCY: Gastroenteritis outbreak at Attikon Hospital with cases among healthcare workers, patients, and visitors.
How will this stop when patients are on stretchers and don’t even have a toilet?
The Attikon General Hospital Employees’ Union expresses its deep concern regarding the confirmed nosocomial outbreak of norovirus-induced gastroenteritis, which has been recorded in recent days at our hospital, with cases affecting at least 25 healthcare workers and dozens of patients and visitors (!!!).
This is not a simple “incident” isolated from the overall situation prevailing in the hospital. The spread of such a contagious virus within a hospital like “Attikon” is fueled by understaffing of nursing personnel and the unacceptable conditions of overcrowded wards and chronic overcrowding.
For 13 years we have been warning: a hospital that constantly operates beyond its limits, with hallways filled with beds, with patients crammed together (surgical patients, immunocompromised patients, seriously ill, elderly), and with staff running to cover multiple posts, cannot ensure the basic conditions for safe hospitalization.
Will the Minister, the Deputy Minister of Health, and the Administration FINALLY TAKE A DECISION TO ELIMINATE THE BEDS IN ATTIKON?
Will the prosecutor intervene? We filed a lawsuit six months ago!
How will isolation measures, movement restrictions, separate toilet use, and strict hygiene protocols be enforced when dozens of patients are being treated on stretchers in the hallways, without even basic infrastructure?
Our Union calls on all staff to comply with the hygiene rules and guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Committee, which responded immediately. We emphasize that the responsibility is political and administrative. It lies with all governments that treat healthcare as a cost, that leave hospitals without permanent staff, that accept makeshift beds as “the norm,” that turn public hospitals into permanent emergency rooms.
We demand immediately:
1. That all necessary measures be taken to limit the spread of the virus and ensure the immediate removal from work of all symptomatic employees.
2. That adequate personal protective equipment, disinfection supplies, separate areas where required, and all necessary infrastructure for safe patient care be provided.
3. Put an end to the unacceptable situation involving makeshift beds and the hospitalization of patients in hallways and unsuitable areas.
4. Immediately hire permanent staff based on the hospital’s actual needs.
WE DEMAND, AS A MATTER OF URGENCY, that the Ministry of Health issue a policy decision to exempt Attikon Hospital from the Athens Metropolitan Area General On-Call Schedule, at least for the next on-call shift on Saturday, May 30. New admissions and new beds mean a public health crisis. Attikon Hospital cannot take any more.
The Board of Directors