Intensive care woes result from shortages
Intensive care (IC) wards are the heart of any hospital, but in Greece there are perpetual queues of patients and relatives outside them every day. There are few beds, and such a serious shortage of trained nursing staff that some beds remain unused. In some cases, matters are so desperate that instead of the recommended four nurses per bed, there are three beds per nurse. There are only 425 IC beds in all of Greece. The requisite number is 560, but they will suffice only if special additional care wards are created. Four experts talked to Kathimerini about the areas which need special attention. The Health Ministry is aware of the problem and is making huge efforts to meet needs. Deputy Health Minister Hector Nasiokas told Kathimerini that there will be infrastructure for 113 beds by the end of the year, but there is still a shortage of nursing staff. New nurses will go by preference to the new IC wards, and there are plans to develop new additional care wards. At the same time, all IC wards will be put under a uniform operating system so as to improve the quality of care.
