The Minister of Health Michalis Damianos described as constructive the discussion he had on Thursday morning with the President of PASYKI, Sotiris Koumas, and the President of the Medical Branch of PASYDY, Moses Lambrou, regarding the strike mobilization of OKYpY doctors, in the presence of General Director of the Ministry of Christina Giannaki.
He noted that there will be no escalation of measures on the part of doctors in the coming days and expressed optimism that through dialogue a solution will be found for the benefit of the Organization.
In his statements after the end of the meeting, Mr. Damianos spoke of a "very constructive discussion" with the guilds, which he thanked for their presence today at the Ministry to reopen, as he said, the discussion.
"I am sure that within the framework of a wider cooperation and understanding, solutions will be found, the solutions are there and I am sure that we will be able to move forward," he noted.
Asked if he had presented something different to the unions in relation to the proposal he had presented to them last week, the Minister replied that he would not like to go into details regarding the discussion itself, but described it as very positive, reiterating his belief that in the broader contexts that the two sides had discussed in the past, a solution can be found.
When asked if the unions mentioned their next steps given that in the previous days "threats" were heard to escalate the measures on their part, Mr. Damianos said that there will be no escalation of the measures in the coming days.
"This dialogue is starting once again and a solution must definitely be found, so that this story, these strikes, can end, so that the Organization can also move forward," he said.
Asked if he will transfer the content of today's meeting to OKYPY, possibly in a new meeting with the Organization, the Minister said that what was discussed today will definitely be discussed with OKYPY as the final decisions belong to the Organization.
He added that he had to meet personally with the guilds themselves so that they could further discuss issues that they wanted to present in the way they would like to present them. "We will also discuss with OKYpY so that solutions can be found," he said.
In response to a question about whether there will be a joint meeting with all sides, Mr. Damianos said that it is something that will be examined in the coming days, adding that there will obviously be another meeting.
Asked if timetables have been set for when the dialogue will begin and when the unions expect to see a result, the Minister did not want to comment, noting that when there is a new development this will be announced.
Asked to comment on a letter from the Audit Service two days ago calling for no incentives to be given to doctors beyond 2 million and whether he found any dissatisfaction from the unions about the letter in question, Mr. Damianos said the Ministry's proposal referred to a holistic solution for the periods 2023, 2024 and 2025-2027 together, adding that what it commits to in terms of the 2023 numbers is one issue, while the rest will be examined in detail later. .
In a question about a letter from Ms. Giannaki, according to which OKYpY owes 1,3 billion. to the Ministry of Health for the secondment of staff from 2019 and how the Ministry intends to claim this money, Mr. Damianos said that the letter had been duly sent, as is done every year regarding the Organization's debts to the state.
He added that these debts of the Organization to the state have actually started since the creation of OKYPY, where services were provided without compensation for them and while inpatient care was not yet included, with all this money accumulating.
He added that in the last few years, however, when he is compensated by the National Health Service, he returns a part to the state, but "not the whole thing", as he said. He stated that a part of the payroll continues to not be covered by the Organization within the framework of the legislation that the state covers the deficits of the Organization until 31/5/2025. "Obviously this money is the sponsorship provided by the state," he noted.
"Duty the letter had to go, there is the money, there is the Auditor General, there is the Ministry of Finance, there are procedures, clearly they must be recorded so that the organization knows what it has received from the state itself, this is the substance of the letter," he concluded.
Source: KYPE
