Psychiatric Department Employees Union: Hospital assets to be rented to private individuals
Psychiatric Department Employees Union
21 Sep 2022
/ 19:39
CORFU. Instead of repairing and relocating the services of the hospital, it is chosen to be given to private individuals to use them.
The Government, the Ministry and the hospital administration are promoting renting to private individuals the hospital's assets and buildings that are necessary for the housing and development of hospital services, said the Psychiatric Department Employees Union in a statement:
The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the hospital management, is promoting the lease of 60 properties owned by the hospital to private individuals for 25 years.
The current image of abandonment of the hospital's assets is the responsibility of all the administrations that have passed to date and have done nothing to maintain them. It is the responsibility of the governments that let the property of the Greek people be devalued to be given later "for utilisation".
Along with various buildings that are planned to be given for rent for 25 years, the concession of buildings that are necessary for the hospital's services is being promoted.
One such building is that of the nursing school on Alexandras Avenue, which is being promoted for rent for about €3,600. On the other hand, the hospital itself pays around €180,000 every year for renting old and inappropriate buildings to house only the services of the Psychiatric Department, when only the 'Alkioni' Guesthouse in Alykes is rented for €4,000 per month.
So instead of utilising buildings owned by the hospital, including them in ESPA Programmes or another funding programme to repair and relocate the hospital services located in the community (thus significantly reducing the cost of operation), it is chosen to give them to private individuals to utilise them.
Throughout the previous period, our union had contacted the hospital administration, the region, political parties and MPs, raising the issue of building infrastructure and the need to relocate mental health services for cost reasons, saving staff, but also for reasons related to the therapeutic process. This is because, even though the process of deinstitutionalisation is being carried out worldwide by transferring patients to develop social skills, in Corfu the exact opposite has happened, cutting them off from social life and keeping the town a safe and sterile tourist attraction without "annoying" neigbours.
The vague answers and promises foreshadowed the current development. The exploitation of the hospital's assets not for the benefit of patients but for the benefit of private individuals and the tourist product. In fact, MP Stefanos Gika's said "the mentally ill cannot come to town" at a meeting with our union board when we raised the issue of how useful buildings, such as the old nursing school, are to house sector services. On the contrary, he recently attended a meeting with the Hospital Director and the Health Ministry General Secretary on the "utilisation of the hospital property".
We promise to continue to put pressure in order to develop, house and staff all the necessary public and free health and mental health services that the country needs.
We call on all the unions and bodies to act against the planning of the Ministry and the hospital administration.
We demand that all buildings that can house services remain in the hospital, that all necessary steps be taken to include them in ESPA programmes or other funding programmes and that they be used for the benefit of patients.
We demand that this unacceptable situation of private individuals being paid for renting inappropriate buildings, while at the same time the hospital does not use its own buildings for this purpose, should stop.
CORFU HOSPITAL’S PSYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES UNION
The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the hospital management, is promoting the lease of 60 properties owned by the hospital to private individuals for 25 years.
The current image of abandonment of the hospital's assets is the responsibility of all the administrations that have passed to date and have done nothing to maintain them. It is the responsibility of the governments that let the property of the Greek people be devalued to be given later "for utilisation".
Along with various buildings that are planned to be given for rent for 25 years, the concession of buildings that are necessary for the hospital's services is being promoted.
One such building is that of the nursing school on Alexandras Avenue, which is being promoted for rent for about €3,600. On the other hand, the hospital itself pays around €180,000 every year for renting old and inappropriate buildings to house only the services of the Psychiatric Department, when only the 'Alkioni' Guesthouse in Alykes is rented for €4,000 per month.
So instead of utilising buildings owned by the hospital, including them in ESPA Programmes or another funding programme to repair and relocate the hospital services located in the community (thus significantly reducing the cost of operation), it is chosen to give them to private individuals to utilise them.
Throughout the previous period, our union had contacted the hospital administration, the region, political parties and MPs, raising the issue of building infrastructure and the need to relocate mental health services for cost reasons, saving staff, but also for reasons related to the therapeutic process. This is because, even though the process of deinstitutionalisation is being carried out worldwide by transferring patients to develop social skills, in Corfu the exact opposite has happened, cutting them off from social life and keeping the town a safe and sterile tourist attraction without "annoying" neigbours.
The vague answers and promises foreshadowed the current development. The exploitation of the hospital's assets not for the benefit of patients but for the benefit of private individuals and the tourist product. In fact, MP Stefanos Gika's said "the mentally ill cannot come to town" at a meeting with our union board when we raised the issue of how useful buildings, such as the old nursing school, are to house sector services. On the contrary, he recently attended a meeting with the Hospital Director and the Health Ministry General Secretary on the "utilisation of the hospital property".
We promise to continue to put pressure in order to develop, house and staff all the necessary public and free health and mental health services that the country needs.
We call on all the unions and bodies to act against the planning of the Ministry and the hospital administration.
We demand that all buildings that can house services remain in the hospital, that all necessary steps be taken to include them in ESPA programmes or other funding programmes and that they be used for the benefit of patients.
We demand that this unacceptable situation of private individuals being paid for renting inappropriate buildings, while at the same time the hospital does not use its own buildings for this purpose, should stop.
CORFU HOSPITAL’S PSYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES UNION
