Adonis, the plaque and the protests in Thessaloniki

With a 'discreet' plaque bearing his name, the Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, wanted to remind every cancer patient who is going to use the PET / CT scan, the first one in public hospital in Northern Greece, that this happened due to him.

The news of the foundation of a PET / CT scan section, which enables improved diagnosis, staging and monitoring of patients with cancer, is undeniably an important event. Especially because the process was "blocked" for three years, as he Georgiadis announced via Twitter. However, why does the minister seek credits from the patients who will use the machine, telling them that it was he and not somebody else that founded it?

The visit of Mr. Georgiadis, however, in Thessaloniki was once more episodic. There were protests from health personnel and citizens, to which the minister replied with irony and in one case, were called police forces.

In Hospital "Papageorgiou", where he founded the section of PET / CT scan, the Minister of Health greeted by employees with banners and slogans for the dismantling of public health, at the entrance of the hospital.

At the exit of the minister from the area of the hospital, a woman asked him why the employees are still unpaid, while the tension peaked when one of the nurses asked the Minister for the fact that there are employees without contracts. Mr. Georgiadis, with clearly ironic - for many - style, he replied: "Why do not you carry a banner of PAME?" Note that this nurse was proclaimed as the best employee of the hospital in the year 2010.

However, his visit to RPHL Toumba was also episodic. According to thestival.gr, Mr. Georgiades faced protests of citizens and employees. He, again via Twitter, presented a different picture saying "everything works normally. Appointments closed until 30/4" and attached a photo of a handshake with elderly man.

The next stop of the Health Minister was Vellidio convention center, where he gave a speech at an international scientific meeting about the quality of health services in Thessaloniki. Again, Mr. Georgiadis was greeted from former employees of the Hospital "Panagia" which closed, and due to the mobility process they have been transferred in Athens.

The same scene prevailed in Papanikolaou Hospital, where employees jeered at the minister, protesting for layoffs and delays in payment. The employees were repulsed by police forces, in order the minister to continue his tour.