Amidst protests, the mental health bill is being voted on today

The Ministry of Health’s mental health bill is being voted on today amidst protests from hospital and addiction treatment center workers.

A 24-hour strike is underway in hospitals, and a march took place this morning demanding the bill’s withdrawal. Participants accused the government of “dismantling public mental health and addiction services” and handing them over to private entities.

The bill calls for transferring responsibilities to a private entity, the National Network of Mental Health Services, for reorganizing and managing mental health services. It also involves creating another private entity, EOPAE, which will oversee the integration of existing organizations like KETHEA, OKANA, and 18ANO.

Organizations are criticizing the bill, arguing that it will severely impact individuals with mental illnesses and substance dependencies. In response, the government claims that the reform has been pending since 1999.

In a statement, the Federation of Hospital Doctors’ Unions (OENGE) highlighted that “the government has, at the last moment, included Article 65 in the bill for the ‘Completion of the Psychiatric Reform.’ This article proposes ‘strengthening public health services through private providers and private doctors’ to supposedly ‘address’ needs that could potentially threaten public health.”

The government, represented by spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, responded that “psychiatric hospitals are not being abolished.” He accused the opposition of spreading fake news and confirmed that there will be no layoffs. He added that “psychiatric hospitals are not being abolished; instead, they are being restructured into new legal entities, strengthened, and transformed into Integrated Community Mental Health Service Networks.”