On which islands you won’t find a doctor – Major POEDIN investigation

A state of borderline functionality, with severe shortages in staff, infrastructure, and basic healthcare services, is the situation described by a recent survey conducted in public hospitals, health centers, and welfare facilities across Greece’s island regions.

The large-scale survey was carried out by the Panhellenic Federation of Employees in Public Hospitals (POEDIN) and concerns 38 healthcare units and six welfare structures in Crete, the Aegean, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands.

The survey clearly shows that the National Health System (ESY) depends heavily on staff transfers, temporary contract workers, and excessive overtime in order to operate, while the needs of residents and millions of visitors — especially during the summer months — increase dramatically.

According to the federation’s data, dozens of clinics are understaffed or have shut down, Intensive Care Units remain inactive due to a lack of doctors and nurses, while many units lack essential specialties such as internists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, and radiologists.

At the same time, thousands of owed days off and unpaid leave reflect the exhaustion of staff, who in many cases work below safe staffing limits. The problems are especially severe in island regions, where the difficulty of finding housing and low salaries discourage the recruitment of permanent staff.

POEDIN also announced a major island-wide mobilization in Crete on Wednesday, May 27, with a gathering at Venizeleio Hospital, demanding immediate hiring, reinforcement of healthcare structures, and substantial support for hospitals, health centers, and welfare units on the islands.

Staff shortages, equipment deficiencies, and POEDIN’s findings by island

CRETE

• VENIZELEIO HOSPITAL: Severe shortages in all specialties. The hospital ranks among the busiest in Greece in terms of patient visits. There are 1,363 official positions, with 1,180 employees currently serving, leaving 183 vacancies. Medical staff positions total 368, with 344 currently employed, leaving 18 shortages. Nursing staff positions total 597, with 488 serving, leaving 109 shortages. Three out of the hospital’s 15 ICU beds are closed due to staff shortages. Three out of eight operating rooms are also closed.
• PAGNI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: The hospital’s major issue concerns the Child Psychiatry Clinic, where only one doctor serves. There are also major shortages in doctors and nurses in the Pediatric ICU. Thousands of days off and leave are owed to nursing staff. Several specialized tertiary clinics remain merged since the pandemic period, including Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, and Vascular Surgery.
• CHANIA HOSPITAL: Staff shortages across all specialties range between 40% and 45% of official positions. The Pulmonology Clinic has closed due to the absence of a pulmonologist. Only two doctors work in emergency services, resulting in huge waiting times and staff burnout. Of the two ICUs, one operates normally while the other is understaffed. Only three of seven operating tables function.
• RETHYMNO HOSPITAL: Of 92 doctor positions, only 64 are filled. Nursing staff positions total 264, but only 184 are employed. Psychiatric services are understaffed and barely functioning. Most buildings are very old and require constant maintenance.
• AGIOS NIKOLAOS HOSPITAL: Staffing has fallen by 20% over the past four years, from 461 employees in 2022 to 374 in 2026. More than 18,000 leave and rest days are owed to workers. Half the month the hospital operates without an anesthesiologist or radiologist on duty. The hospital has no gastroenterologist or neurologist. ICU beds have been reduced from six to four.
• IERAPETRA HOSPITAL: Massive shortages of medical personnel. Currently there is only one anesthesiologist, one internist, one pediatrician, one cardiologist, and two radiologists. One of the two operating rooms functions daily, while the second works only twice a week due to shortages.
• SITIA HOSPITAL: The hospital has effectively been without an internist for about two years. The radiology department is understaffed and partially covered by a private doctor. Emergency staffing gaps remain severe.

IONIAN ISLANDS

• KEFALONIA: The hospital faces extremely serious staff shortages. There is only one internist and no dermatologists, dentists, or ENT specialists. The ICU never operated because of insufficient staff.
• ZAKYNTHOS: The Pulmonology Clinic has shut down due to a lack of pulmonologists. There is no ENT specialist. Staffing shortages remain significant, although the ICU and chemotherapy department are operational.
• LEFKADA: The hospital operates with emergency-level staffing. The ICU and psychiatric department never operated due to shortages. Forty to fifty percent of nursing staff are temporary contract workers.
• CORFU: The hospital operates at only 45% staffing capacity for both doctors and nurses. Employees are resigning because of low salaries.

AEGEAN ISLANDS

• KARPATHOS: The hospital operates with only a handful of doctors and no internist or cardiologist. Most services are understaffed.
• KYTHIRA: The hospital urgently needs doctors. Staff are owed more than 60 days off and leave days dating back to 2024.
• LESVOS (MYTILENE): Severe shortages exist in nursing staff, stretcher-bearers, radiologists, nephrologists, and anesthesiologists.
• LIMNOS: The hospital lacks urologists, gastroenterologists, and anesthesiologists. The ICU has never operated due to staff shortages.
• CHIOS: Two of the five ICU beds are expected to close due to shortages. The hospital also faces major shortages in midwives, nurses, and radiology personnel.
• SAMOS: There is no internist, ophthalmologist, ENT specialist, neurosurgeon, or oncologist. Nursing staff operate below safe staffing limits, often with only one nurse per shift.
• IKARIA: The hospital lacks several core specialties, including a gynecologist. The Polyvalent Regional Clinic in Raches is not functioning at all.
• RHODES: More than 15,000 days off are owed due to nursing shortages. Only six of eight ICU beds operate, and just two of seven operating rooms function.
• KOS: No internist currently serves at the hospital. Medical staffing gaps are filled through temporary transfers from other hospitals.
• LEROS: Huge shortages exist in nearly all medical specialties, including cardiology, pediatrics, neurology, anesthesiology, and dermatology.

CYCLADES

• SYROS: Severe understaffing among doctors. There is no neurologist, psychiatrist, dermatologist, or adequately staffed emergency department. Only two anesthesiologists serve instead of four.
• MILOS HEALTH CENTER: Only two nurses and three general practitioners serve at the facility. No specialist doctors are available.
• PAROS HEALTH CENTER: Requires urgent hiring of microbiologists, cardiologists, radiologists, and surgeons.
• ΤINOS HEALTH CENTER: The center has no general practitioner or cardiologist and is staffed mainly by rural doctors.
• NAXOS HEALTH CENTER: Needs multiple specialists, including internists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, orthopedists, and radiologists, as well as at least 10 more nurses.
• AMORGOS HEALTH CENTER: Only five nurses work at the facility, which also urgently requires a general practitioner and cardiologist.
• IOS HEALTH CENTER: There is no pediatrician on the island. Only two permanent nurses and one temporary nurse work there.
• SANTORINI HOSPITAL: The hospital relies heavily on private doctors contracted through service agreements. Nursing shortages remain severe because of low wages and housing shortages.