Man dies near Corfu Hospital waiting for an ambulance!
ambulance service
05 Dec 2018
/ 11:09
CORFU. The fears that the terrible shortages in Corfu Ambulance Service would lead to loss of life came true with the death of a 79-year-old Corfu man.
The 79-year-old suffered from kidney failure and was on dialysis. He had a fistula - a valve connected to the main artery allowing better access to the veins.
On Tuesday evening he was with his family at a restaurant in Mantouki. For an unknown reason the fistula broke and they immediately phoned for an ambulance. The two EKAB (National Ambulance Service) ambulances on duty were at an incident in Ag. Mathaios in South Corfu and an incident of cardiac arrest in Alykes Potamos, where they had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The hospital ambulance was even further away in Sidari - about 40km away.
The EKAB ambulance eventually arrived after about 40 minutes but the 79-year-old man died from massive bleeding just ten minutes away from the hospital!
The Hospital Director Phivos Kakavitsas talked to Enimerosi about the tragic incident: "The problems with EKAB in Corfu are well-known - the hospital administration and all the Corfu medical profession have protested about the lack of personnel the recruitment that has happened is not enough. It was for this reason that the hospital administration met with the EKAB vice-president in Athens two weeks ago following the emergency medical evacuation incident where there was a 45-minute wait for the Ioannina EKAB ambulance in Igoumenitsa. We reported it to the prosecutor and requested an administrative inquiry. There is only one solution - more personnel for Corfu EKAB."
"Unfortunately, a life was lost and this is not the first time nor will it be the last," said the President of Corfu EKAB Workers' Union Spyros Poulis. "With the lack of personnel, the dreadful condition of the roads and the lack of doctors there could well be further such incidents. We can see these dangers and have repeatedly requested that the island be divided into north and south sections, that an Ionian Islands Regional EKAB service be set up based in Corfu, recruitment of doctors and the transfer of our service to the Police Headquarters building.
The indifference of the Ministry must cease and they must stop treating us as the 'poor relative'. The Town and Regional Councils have drawn up a document and once it is ready it will be sent to Mr. Tsipras so that the Prime Minister is aware of the situation! Let's hope that after this death we won't have any more victims."
On Tuesday evening he was with his family at a restaurant in Mantouki. For an unknown reason the fistula broke and they immediately phoned for an ambulance. The two EKAB (National Ambulance Service) ambulances on duty were at an incident in Ag. Mathaios in South Corfu and an incident of cardiac arrest in Alykes Potamos, where they had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The hospital ambulance was even further away in Sidari - about 40km away.
The EKAB ambulance eventually arrived after about 40 minutes but the 79-year-old man died from massive bleeding just ten minutes away from the hospital!
The Hospital Director Phivos Kakavitsas talked to Enimerosi about the tragic incident: "The problems with EKAB in Corfu are well-known - the hospital administration and all the Corfu medical profession have protested about the lack of personnel the recruitment that has happened is not enough. It was for this reason that the hospital administration met with the EKAB vice-president in Athens two weeks ago following the emergency medical evacuation incident where there was a 45-minute wait for the Ioannina EKAB ambulance in Igoumenitsa. We reported it to the prosecutor and requested an administrative inquiry. There is only one solution - more personnel for Corfu EKAB."
"Unfortunately, a life was lost and this is not the first time nor will it be the last," said the President of Corfu EKAB Workers' Union Spyros Poulis. "With the lack of personnel, the dreadful condition of the roads and the lack of doctors there could well be further such incidents. We can see these dangers and have repeatedly requested that the island be divided into north and south sections, that an Ionian Islands Regional EKAB service be set up based in Corfu, recruitment of doctors and the transfer of our service to the Police Headquarters building.
The indifference of the Ministry must cease and they must stop treating us as the 'poor relative'. The Town and Regional Councils have drawn up a document and once it is ready it will be sent to Mr. Tsipras so that the Prime Minister is aware of the situation! Let's hope that after this death we won't have any more victims."
