Karampatis Attacks Government Over Leros Hospital, Tourism and Transport

Michail Karampatis, a Greek Solution parliamentary candidate in the Dodecanese, issued a strongly worded press release attacking the government over Leros Hospital, tourism, migration and the cost of travelling to the island.

He opened by sending Assumption Day wishes across the prefecture, describing the holiday as perhaps the only opportunity for island residents to meet relatives and friends who could still travel to the islands.

Mr Karampatis then criticised the prime minister's visit to Leros on Tuesday 28 July, accusing him of returning with what he called lies and fanfare. He questioned whether the prime minister believed his own statements and said something was clearly wrong.

He said the first stop had been the hospital and claimed the comments made there underestimated the intelligence of local residents.

Health and Leros Hospital

Mr Karampatis said the new outpatient facility had been created through a donation from a Greek citizen from Leros who lived abroad and was not a government project.

He rejected the claim that the government had inherited chaos in 2019, arguing that the hospital had been in much better condition and had more staff, including three cardiologists.

He said the work of a former hospital administrator, Ms Sarika, could not be disputed. Health should not be treated as an issue of left, right or centre, he added, and Greek Solution would state the facts as it saw them.

To challenge claims that doctors were arriving and the hospital was being staffed, Mr Karampatis listed what he described as the current position.

• The urologist was due to leave immediately.
• There was one orthopaedic doctor, who was expected to leave within a year. When that doctor was on leave, no orthopaedic specialist was available.
• There was no ear, nose and throat specialist.
• The paediatrician was retiring.
• There was no cardiologist.
• General practitioners were covering internal medicine specialties even though that was not their proper role.

He claimed operating-theatre nurses were being sent to help on the medical ward, which he described as a serious mistake because of the risk of carrying microbes into the operating area.

He also said nurses had to perform cleaning duties during night-time surgery because no cleaner was available in the evening.

According to the statement, only one doctor handled diagnostic tests such as CT scans and X-rays. When that doctor was absent, photographs of the examinations had to be sent through Viber to the relevant specialists on Rhodes.

Mr Karampatis said the microbiology and blood donation services had one doctor. When that doctor was away, difficulties arose in cross-matching blood units for surgery, resulting in operations being postponed or cancelled.

He said blood could likewise not be provided to people with low haematocrit who urgently required a transfusion. Staff, not tiles and paint, made the real difference, he argued.

Mr Karampatis also questioned the cost of helicopter patient transfers, which he put at about EUR 30,000 each. He said that 20 air transfers during the summer would amount to EUR 600,000 and asked how many doctors and what equipment that money could provide.

He stressed that Leros Hospital also served four other islands.

Prime minister's visit, tourism and transport

Mr Karampatis said the prime minister's second visit to Leros presented what he described as a poor image. He claimed the accompanying officials and local supporters did not fill the cafe where the prime minister spoke, despite millions of euros promised to local representatives.

He criticised the prime minister's statement that irregular arrivals from Turkey had been stopped and that Turkish visitors were welcome, while asylum seekers were being transferred from Crete to Leros.

Mr Karampatis used the term 'illegal migrants' in his statement and said nobody present had challenged the prime minister's account.

He argued that Leros had previously attracted stronger tourism from Denmark, Sweden, Italy and France, while local businesses also looked forward to Greek visitors.

He accused the government of allowing shipping companies to operate without sufficient control, making Leros and the Dodecanese prohibitively expensive for Greek travellers.

A family of four needed about EUR 1,000 for ferry tickets alone, he claimed, while air travel was even less accessible. He asked how a Greek visitor earning EUR 850 a month could afford to travel when fuel, supermarket prices and taxes were also high.

The situation was not as positive as the prime minister suggested, he said, and would be reflected at the next election.

Mr Karampatis also referred to a tourism visit by Pasok leader Nikos Androulakis. He said fishers present had previously received information and legal details from him in 2021 about Turkish fishing vessels.

He said he had given the same material to Greek Solution leader Kyriakos Velopoulos, who raised the issue in parliament the following day. Fishers should remember who had genuinely taken an interest, he added.

Mr Karampatis concluded that Greek Solution would continue to assert the Greek identity of the area and oppose further agreements resembling the Prespa accord.

The statement was signed by Michail Karampatis as a Greek Solution parliamentary candidate for the Dodecanese.

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