Ten nurses from Crete voluntarily go to Thessaloniki to help against Covid-19

November 18, 2020

Ten nurses from hospitals in Crete will voluntarily go to Thessaloniki to help their colleagues in the battle against the Covid-19. The nurses are specialized in Intensive Care Units.

Nurses Vassiliki, Olympia, Euangelia, Artemis, Katerina, Malamatina, Efrosyni, Anthi, Chrysoula and Penelope will start working at “Ippokrateio” hospital tomorrow, Thursday. Two of them are reportedly already in Thessaloniki, the other 8 are due to leave Heraklio today.

The ten nurses are the first to respond to the call of the President of the Panhellenic Medical Association, Athanasios Exadaktylos, a few days ago.

“I bow down before the greatness of of these people,” Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Wednesday. “Last week I stated from Thessaloniki that all of Greece is now one health region and each health region will support the other,” the minister, who also published their first names, said.

Other health professionals have reportedly also expressed the desire to be transferred to hospitals in Northern Greece, in areas where hospitals are at breaking point due to the pandemic.

Thessaloniki, the country’s second biggest city, is dealing with a big wave of infections and doctors have been  calling for help since last week.According to latest reports, only 12 ICU beds are free in a city with one million inhabitants that receives also patients from the broader area.

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The critical situation in the hospitals of Thessaloniki is of particular concern for the authorities that reportedly seek solutions regarding the treatment of coronavirus patients with either mild or more severe symptoms.

According to information of Open TV, there is a plan on the table to transport patients from Thessaloniki to hospitals in Attica by train. This possibility is being examined in order to meet the needs arising from the particularly overcrowded area of ​​Thessaloniki. In the coming days, it is expected that flights will start transporting Covid-19 patients from Thessaloniki to Athens, if necessary, the network reported..

Minister Kikilias underlined “I bow down and make a commitment to them, and to all the people of the national health system who are fighting heroically in this unprecedented pandemic, that we will stand by them and actively support them, as they stand by and support us day and night for months now.”

PS may one day the minister’s commitment come true, because until now front-line health workers have not seen much other that some “gratitude clapping” in the first months of the pandemic.

Published at www.keeptalkinggreece.com