Doctors in Greece work too many hours and today the European Commission asked Athens to conform to EU regulations on working hours in public health services. Brussels has sent Greece a formal letter, and now the country has two months time to take the necessary measures.
If Greece fails to conform to regulations, it could be taken to the European Court of Justice. Brussels claims that doctors in Greece working in public hospitals and healthcare centres must work an average of 64 hours per week, 90 hours in some cases. Greece has imposed no ceiling on the number of hours doctors are required to work in continuation, and often they don’t have time to take sufficient breaks.
The European Commission sees this situation as a serious violation of the EU directive on working hours. Working too many hours without sufficient rest creates health and security risks for the workers themselves, and excessive exhaustion of doctors can have serious consequences for their patients.
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