The major breathing projects already underway or planned and expected to start in the coming months are expected to radically change the picture.
Thessaloniki is at the center of the new era in Health, as, after the completion of the projects, citizens are expected to enjoy high-level infrastructure and services.
The new Cancer Hospital of Thessaloniki, the University Children’s Hospital, the pioneering Cell and Gene Therapy Unit at the G. Papanikolaou hospital, the new TEPs in Ippokrateio and the -under construction- the new Short-Term Hospitalization Unit for Oncology Patients in Papageorgiou are some of the projects presented last Tuesday in the co-capital, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and 8 government officials, including the Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis, on the occasion of the new regional development plan platform erga.gov.gr, which was presented at the same event.
In the Health sector in particular, the renovation, modernization and construction of new buildings in 93 hospitals, as well as 157 NHS Health Centers, is expected to be implemented in the 7 Health Regions (H.P.) of the whole country.
Almost all of these projects have an implementation horizon of April 2025, while the total cost – which will be covered by funds from the Recovery and Resilience Fund – is estimated at 394 million euros (including VAT).
The majority of projects (in 60 of the 93 hospitals) include the renovation of Emergency Departments (EDs) and the remodeling of Resuscitation Rooms with modern specifications.
Also launched:
- the supply of new modern medical technological equipment for the hospitals of the whole country, with a budget of 78 million euros,
- the establishment of a Radiation Therapy Center at the “Sotiria” Hospital with a total budget of over 40 million euros,
- the construction of a building for specialized Cell and Gene Therapies and Hematology Clinic Laboratories at the Hospital “G. Papanikolaou”, with a total budget of over 13 million euros.
In more detail, the major projects in Health are the following:
New Oncology Hospital of Thessaloniki
The Oncological (Anti-Cancer) Hospital of Thessaloniki is the first of two new large hospitals expected to be built in Northern Greece.
The total cost amounts to 350.5 million euros (plus VAT) and its construction, which was approved on Thursday (29/08) by the Interministerial Committee on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), is expected to begin immediately in part of former Karatassiou Camp, near the Papageorgiou hospital.
This emblematic project for Northern Greece includes a state-of-the-art bioclimatic complex with high energy efficiency.
The new hospital – which is expected to replace Theageneio – will have a capacity of 425 beds and will include oncology services, (diagnosis, treatment and health promotion), a mental health unit, a rehabilitation sector, a palliative care unit and accommodation areas for accompanying patients.
It is also designed to have 100 day care beds, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), modern operating rooms, and will be equipped with the latest medical technology, with two magnetic and axial tomographs and a complete laboratory for molecular testing.
Also, a palliative care and supportive treatment unit for end-stage patients with a capacity of 70 beds will operate in the same complex, while according to the plan, a model Clinical Research Center for cancer will also be created.
Pediatric Hospital of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
The University Pediatric Hospital of Thessaloniki in Filiro, which is being built with a donation from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will be a model hospital for children and adolescents in Thessaloniki, which is expected to fill a huge gap of several decades in our country, that of the lack of a pediatric hospital in the North Greece.
The hospital is part of a wider project to build three hospitals by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and has a total budget of 443 million euros.
The Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis stated that the Pediatric Hospital is expected to be delivered in December 2027, while speaking about the Health projects in Northern Greece as a whole, he emphasizes to “ET” how they are expected to change the landscape of residents’ care.
“In collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, we are building the largest Pediatric Hospital in Eastern Europe, as well as the largest Oncology Hospital in all of the Balkans. Thessaloniki will soon have two of the best hospitals in the country. At the same time, a few days ago the operation of the Children’s Intensive Care Unit at the University Hospital of Larissa began,” he noted.
Cell and Gene Therapy Unit in Papanikolaou
The creation of a Cell and Gene Therapy Unit at the G. Papanikolaou hospital is also expected to be an important project.
It is a pioneering project with a budget of 13.4 million euros, which will include laboratories of the Hematology Clinic and a special nursing unit with 11 beds.
The Minister of Health announced that the building permit is expected to be issued before the Prime Minister’s speech at the TIF, with the aim of starting work immediately.
Expansion of Hippocrates Hospital and Short Hospitalization Unit in Papageorgiou
In addition, the expansion of the Emergency Departments (ED) is planned at Hippocrates Hospital, with a budget of 7.6 million euros and expected completion in December 2025.
At the same time, a new Short Hospitalization Unit for Oncology Patients is being built at Papageorgiou Hospital, which is expected to be completed in August 2025.
Establishment of Radiotherapy Center in Sotiria
An important project for the health of the inhabitants of the Attica basin is expected to be the establishment of the Radiation Therapy Center at the Sotiria Hospital, with a budget of 40.2 million euros. The project is implemented by TAIPED and the 1st Ministry of Education.
It will include sub-project 1, the construction of a new four-storey building, which will house: Department of Radiotherapy, Department of Outpatient Clinics, Department of Chemotherapy with a capacity of 60 seats and Department of Laboratories.
And sub-project 2, with the renovation of part of the 300 MEN building and the clinics it includes.
The Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis, in his statements to “ET” adds that the renovation of the NHS infrastructure is a request of the Greek people for years, which the current government implemented.
“However, on our islands, too, we do many interventions and projects there. Throughout the territory. Almost all hospitals are in the process of renovation. Step by step, the NHS is changing in defiance of all those who insist, for oppositional reasons, that the government is orchestrating the dissolution of the NHS”, he concludes.
Adonis Georgiadis in “ET”: “Step by step the NHS is changing”
Speaking to “ET” the Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis, emphasizes that with the implementation of these projects, the largest program of interventions that has been launched in the National Health Service, since its establishment until today, will be completed.
“Our government has launched a plan to restructure the National Health System, emphasizing basic infrastructure, spending huge resources from the Recovery Fund, to renovate hospitals and health centers, modernize building facilities as well as expand departments by creating new beds. Our interventions concern the energy upgrade, modernization and renovation of 93 of the country’s 127 hospitals and 157 of the region’s 318 health centers, while we have secured an additional 85 million euros for the purchase of modernized medical technology equipment. This is the largest program of complete building and medical technology renovation of the National Health System since its establishment”, notes the minister.
POSITION COVERAGE PLAN
Recruitment by providing new incentives
All the above interventions will not succeed in benefiting the patients, if the new infrastructures are not manned with the appropriate specialized human potential.
The Ministry of Health hopes that it will be able to man the NHS and fill the empty organizational positions with the brave – as it characterizes them – incentives recently established to attract new health professionals. These include salary increases, as well as additional allowances that can even reach 7,200 euros per year for those doctors of certain specialties who choose barren regions.
In total, 2,500 new doctors are expected to benefit, strengthening the critical needs of the NHS, while within 2024, 6,500 jobs for doctors, nurses and administrative staff are expected to be announced through ASEP with the aim of strengthening health structures.
Finally, it is expected to strengthen and speed up the personnel evaluation and selection procedures through the ASEP, with the aim of minimizing bureaucracy.
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