Ten Underage Siblings from Lasithi Seek a Hospital Just to Have a Place to Stay

Ten underage siblings from the Lasithi region of Crete, who according to social services are living in a violent family environment, are currently in need of hospital accommodation under a prosecutor’s order.

The case adds to a growing number of incidents that, according to Michalis Giannakos, President of the Panhellenic Federation of Employees in Public Hospitals (POEDIN), highlight the welfare system’s inability to manage children in urgent need of protection.

As Mr Giannakos reports, social services in the Regional Unit of Lasithi have already contacted hospitals across Crete, including Chania General Hospital, in an effort to find accommodation for the ten children.

At the same time, the three children who were recently discovered living in conditions of severe neglect remain at Chania Hospital under a prosecutor’s order.

According to the POEDIN president, their prolonged stay is creating serious operational problems for the hospital’s Paediatric Clinic, as the children reportedly display intense aggressive behaviour, affecting both patients and staff.

POEDIN argues that the situation is worsening by the day.

“On Sunday alone, a five-month-old infant and his 13-year-old cousin were transferred to Agia Sofia Children’s Hospital following an incident in Nea Smyrni Square,” Mr Giannakos explained.

According to his account, members of the public who witnessed the infant being mistreated alerted the police. Officers intervened and, following a prosecutor’s order, both children were taken to hospital.

The POEDIN president described the situation as “out of control,” noting that Athens’ two major paediatric hospitals — Agia Sofia Children’s Hospital and Aghlaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospital — are currently accommodating around 45 children under prosecutor-issued protection orders. Many remain in hospital wards for extended periods due to the lack of suitable welfare and child protection facilities.

Meanwhile, two underage girls continue to stay at Kalamata Hospital after their mother was murdered by their father, as no appropriate accommodation structure has yet been found for them.

“We cannot go on like this with prosecutor-referred children being parked in hospitals. We are throwing up our hands in despair. The treatment and care protocols for hospitalized children are being disrupted by the accommodation of children placed there under prosecutorial orders,” Mr Giannakos stressed, once again raising concerns about the adequacy of welfare services and child protection facilities in Greece.

POEDIN warns that unless immediate solutions are found, hospitals will continue to be transformed into long-term accommodation facilities for children in need of social protection, with serious consequences both for the children themselves and for the operation of paediatric clinics.