The Alternate Minister of National Defence Dimitris Vitsas, inaugurated on Thursday, 01 February 2018, in the presence of the Chief HNDGS Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis HN, and the Chief HNGS Lieutenant General Alkiviadis Stefanis, the new Endoscopy Unit, as well as the renovated Artificial Kidney Unit “Brigadier General (Med) Konstantinos Karamitsos” of the 401 Army General Hospital of Athens.

During his speech, the Alternate Minister of National Defence, stated amongst others the following:

“Chief HNDGS,
Chief HNGS,
Generals,
Civilian and Military Personnel of the 401 Army General Hospital of Athens,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I am here today for the second time, in order to inaugurate the renovated Endoscopy Unit and the Artificial Kidney Unit of the 401 Army General Hospital of Athens.

The health policy of the Ministry of National Defence has as its primary purpose the protection and promotion of health and aims at contributing to the provision of high-level health services, both to the personnel of the Armed Forces and the wider community, as well as providing the necessary resources that support this policy.

The investment in the health sector, the persistent effort to address existing and emerging problems and the continuous effort to improve and seek optimum practices, serve as a strong indication of the significance and the added value of our policy on health. Particularly, given that 2018 has been declared as the Year of Welfare for the Armed Forces Personnel and the upgrading of infrastructure for the provision of health services is amongst our priorities.

Therefore, any improvements in infrastructure at the largest Army Hospital also involve improvements in the overall provision of health services. In this context and aiming at developing and upgrading the Army Hospitals, improving the working and patient treatment conditions, we inaugurate today these renovated Units.

Both Units were designed and implemented with the vision to cover the needs of patients and with the purpose of providing high-level care. The New Endoscopy Unit constitutes a separate functional set of spaces, inside the 401 Army General Hospital of Athens, and covers on a daily basis a large number of diagnostic and surgical procedures, providing in-hospital and out-of-hospital treatment, both to the on-active-duty and the retired personnel of the Armed Forces and the members of their families and to many other groups of population.

The New Artificial Kidney Unit is a unique unit for haemodialysis, which operates at a fully renovated wing of the Hospital and meets the strictest safety and quality requirements, in compliance with international standards and the regulations of the Ministry of Health.

Its upgrading contributes to the continuation of provision of the best coordinated care for persons in need, since -as we are all well aware of- the Artificial Kidney Unit, same as healthy kidneys, never stops working and is always there – on weekdays, holidays, vacation days, public holidays -, offering medical and nursing care, let alone emotional and spiritual support to patients.

With the help of the National Bank of Greece, which contributed to the equipment of the New Artificial Kidney Unit, by donating the water treatment systems, as well as four state-of-the-art machines for haemodialysis, to which we are particularly grateful, we now have the infrastructure that this particular Unit deserves.

The extension and renovation allows the Hospital to meet the increased needs of the beneficiaries of health, given that:
The capacity of its departments is increased, in step with the increased needs of the beneficiaries of health;
An easier and more immediate access is ensured and comfort and privacy of patients is added;
An improved working environment for the personnel and more time spent for the patients’ care is ensured;
A high quality of treatment is reflected outside the hospital.

At this point, we have to stress that even though these upgrades for the provision of high quality health services and for the overall impression of Army Hospitals are necessary, they are still challenges that need to be overcome by all participants to these projects and mainly, by the Hospital’s administration.

Challenges that include the access to funds and available financing options, the forecasting of future needs, so that what has been built would satisfy the needs in the immediate and long-term future and finally, the ensuring of the participation and support by the leadership, the personnel and the patients.

This upgrading, with the support of the medical and nursing personnel, which with its excellent scientific training and its willingness to offer, will operate these new Units in an exemplary manner, will allows us to keep on providing integrated medical and nursing care to the Hospital’s beneficiaries of treatment.

At the same time, the procedures for the conclusion of the Programme Agreement between the Ministry of National Defence and the Attika District on the purchase of medical equipment for Army Hospitals in Attika, amounting to 20 m. euro, are in the process of being finalized, based on the Framework of Cooperation on the Enhancement of Interoperability, concluded with the Attika District.

The procurement of this medical equipment is absolutely necessary for the healthcare cover of all beneficiaries of healthcare in Army Hospitals, but also citizens of Attika, through the assistance provided by Army Hospitals, in the framework of the extroversion of the Ministry of National Defence.

Moreover, with regard to the personnel, under a statutory provision, the auxiliary personnel that had been recruited last year was given the opportunity to renew its agreements, always taking into account the needs of Hospitals for auxiliary personnel and progress has been made on the conclusion of new agreements on covering the needs in other specialties required.

There will very soon be a possibility to recruit auxiliary medical doctors, who will serve immediate and extraordinary needs in specific medical specialties, so that the maintenance of the high level provision of health services would be ensured.

The renovation of hospitals is an ambitious and long-term initiative and our actions have as primary purpose to support all these efforts. Therefore, I would like to congratulate all those persons who contributed to their fulfillment and I would like to assure you that we are strongly committed to continue along this path”.