Themistocleous: The platform for the recruitment of nurses in Attica has opened

The Deputy Minister of Health, Marios Themistocleous, speaking to the radio station “Kanali Ena 90.4 FM” and the show “Morning Soundtrack” with journalists Katia Antoniadis and George Sarantakos, referred to the coverage of the gaps in the number of doctors on the islands in view of the summer season, the new recruitment of permanent and auxiliary staff in the NHS, the increase in appointments, the reduction of waiting time in Emergency Departments and the evaluation of hospitals by patients.

As he noted, “of the approximately 300 seats in the Region and especially on the islands, which have remained vacant since the years of the crisis, about two-thirds have now been filled.” Themistocleous stressed that this improvement was achieved through targeted incentives for specific specialties and specific regions, which, he said, have paid off to a very large extent. At the same time, he said that “in the next few days, the big advertisement will start, which will include positions on the islands, with the aim of attracting permanent staff”, and added that “permanence is an important factor in attracting candidates”. Referring to the movement of doctors from the mainland to island and remote areas, he said an additional 2,000 euros in addition to their salaries is planned to cover critical vacancies.

Mr. Themistocleous referred to the recruitment planning for 2026, stressing that a total of 5,000 permanent recruitments and 3,000 recruitments of auxiliary staff are foreseen. As he explained, “the permanent recruitments are largely covered by employees already serving in the system as auxiliary staff”. The deputy minister said that “the platform for auxiliary nursing staff has already been opened for Attica and those who have applied and have the right documents will be hired.” At the same time, he stressed that “in the coming days the platform will be opened for the rest of the country, as well as for other specialties.” He said the aim is to have these recruitments completed within the next 3 to 4 months.

“Increase in health system appointments”

Mr. Themistocleous said that the process is progressing and this is reflected in the number of people making appointments, which is increasing every month. As he noted, “the system started from about 330,000 appointments and today it has reached 550,000, recording a very significant increase. This development is due to the fact that the number of available appointments has increased and a more convenient system has been created for citizens.” Themistocleous stressed that the medical community itself played a key role in the increase in appointments, as doctors made more appointments per week. At the same time, citizens, seeing that they can now book appointments more easily and more quickly, are increasingly using the service.

“Reducing wait times”

The Deputy Minister of Health also referred to the progress of the Emergency Departments programme, noting that when the programme was launched, the average waiting time was about 9 hours, while today it has been reduced to 4 hours and 30 minutes. He explained that this average time is now in line with the European Union average. He also made special reference to the volume of incidents, noting that in Attica alone about 600,000 to 650,000 citizens visit the Emergency Departments every year.

Patient ratings of hospitals