A pilot program launched in December that aimed to drastically improve the handling of emergency cases at Athens hospitals will spread to Thessaloniki after achieving impressive results in the capital, the government said yesterday.

Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis told a press conference that the reforms had resulted in an average reduction of 96.2 percent — compared to figures for December 2003-February 2004 — in the number of patients treated on gurneys in hospital corridors due to bed shortages in wards. This had been a chief objective of the pilot program, which changed Athens hospitals’ duty roster system.

Kaklamanis said the program would continue for at least six more months before final conclusions on its effectiveness could be drawn. Similar reforms are expected to come into effect in Thessaloniki in May.