Greece to forcibly enlist private doctors to cope with the pandemic

The health ministry is forcibly enlisting private doctors to help the national health service, in order to cope with surging coronavirus infections, according to a statement by Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias.

"For weeks, the Health Ministry has addressed an invitation - an appeal to private doctors to assist the hospitals of the national health system during the third major wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, very few private doctors have responded. We thank them. Taking into account the emergency conditions and the urgent need for treatment of our fellow human beings, the health ministry is drafting private-sector pathologists, pulmonologists and general practitioners in the Attica region," Kikilias said in a statement on Monday.

The action concerns 206 doctors registered with the state insurance health provider EOPYY (National Organisation for the Provision of Healthcare Services), who are under the age of 60, for one month.