Available at any time of the day for the needs of patients, with a phone in hand so that everyone can find them, with the anxiety of being blocked due to the weather, responsibility for human lives and “flirting” – as they say – with burnout. Doctors working in the country’s island health centers marked with “K” difficult summer days when the population increases due to tourism, difficult and easy shifts with a small staff and the “requirements” of residents and tourists.

“Yesterday was a good change. We had a good flow of incidents, there were no serious incidents. However, there are days, and especially this year there have been many, when we are dealing with very severe cases and may require transportation of four to five patients per day.” refers to “K” Tinos pediatric assistant Chris Deligiannis. in health center islands during this period are treated on average 40-50 patients per day.

“On bad days, the number stays the same, but the severity of incidents changes. You may have a very serious case where you need to be upstairs for two hours to stabilize a patient and then arrange for their transportation. At the same time, outside, other patients are waiting and rightly protesting, but you have two arms and two legs, and there is nothing you can do,” notes Ms. Deligianni.

From 2017 to the beginning of 2021, she herself worked at the Multidisciplinary Regional Clinic of Amorgos. “In the beginning, I was alone on Amorgos as a specialist with two village doctors. There was no schedule. We talked on the phone. After all, that’s how small details work. This particular island had about 1,000 inhabitants, which increased tenfold during the summer. But the winter seemed more difficult to me: I got stuck, the ship comes once a day and you are afraid that night will come and it will be very difficult to call a helicopter for a transplant.”

“Do you know what it’s like when at any moment you are called to make a decision about a patient and you can’t plan your vacation?”

OUR Adriana Husky since the beginning of July, he has been at the Donussa Multidisciplinary Regional Clinic, sent from Leros Hospital. Yesterday morning he took blood samples for analysis, prepared samples in ice packs, wrote out directions and went to the port, waiting for the Skopelitis ship to take them to Naxos. He returned to the doctor’s office, filled out a few prescriptions, and began touring the villages. He returned to the doctor’s office and continued writing prescriptions.

“I arrived in a very good mood and it’s really a beautiful island” notes on “K”. “However, everyday life is not good for me. It’s 24 hours with doctor’s office and on call emergency service. From time to time someone will call you, whether the incident is serious or not. My “beloved” is called at night for a mosquito bite. Okay, it’s not that often, it’s happened twice, but it’s telling.”

She also refers to the demands of the residents. They have gone so far as to demand that he prescribe preventive medicines or ask for preventive microbiological tests when there is no microbiological on the island. “You visit villages once a week. It would be an exaggeration to do this so often, you are not doing anything meaningful, they just want to be seen. When I shortened my visits due to workload, they began to accuse me of not paying attention to them, ”he emphasizes.

On another island of the smaller Cyclades, two rural doctors are working this year at the Multidisciplinary Regional Clinic. The island has 350 permanent residents. During this period, its population can reach 5000-6000 people. Such as points to “K” one of the two doctors, “We were shaking this July because of the strong wind. They feared a serious incident, because due to the wind it would not be possible to deliver to Naxos. We are two villagers and flirt with burnout many times. Until last year, there was a doctor in the polyclinic who single-handedly flew out for 90-100 days of summer. Do you know what it’s like when at any moment you are called to make a decision about a patient and you cannot plan your vacation?

“Every day we take risks”

“Often a tourist has no idea what state care is and makes crazy demands. You cannot hire a doctor to do a scraping after office hours. This is due to the personal rest of the doctor. And this can lead to errors. Every day we put the key in a doctor’s office to open it, we risk our license to practice. A wrong decision, a wrong assessment can destroy us professionally.” notes on “K” public health physician in the Lesser Cyclades. As Tinos Health Center pediatrician Crissa Deligianni notes, “We are all very tired. Fatigue is more psychological. And it’s a shame, because there is an appetite. She also focuses on the possibility of covering needs by auxiliary doctors, which has been steadily done in recent years. “This structure is a little unstable. It doesn’t allow for a team that learns to work together and comes with the inconvenience of insecurity.”