Mitsotakis: €200 to €600 for doctors in “remote areas”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a financial incentive yesterday to attract and retain doctors in underserved or remote areas.

In a Facebook post, the Prime Minister said the new allowance, depending on the area’s classification, “will start at €200 and, for certain specialties, could reach up to €600 per month.”

This announcement comes as a POEDHN (Pan Hellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers) study highlights major challenges facing 43 public health units in Northern Greece. At the same time, a separate report from the Thessaloniki Medical Association shows that 59% of young doctors are considering leaving the country due to low wages and exhausting work hours.

Seventy percent of young doctors report experiencing burnout, and 86% view their work environment as detrimental.

Regarding working hours and working conditions, 70% of young doctors report experiencing burnout, 86% view the work environment as burdensome, and 55% express disappointment with the hospital infrastructure.

At the European level, Greece ranks near the bottom for annual gross salary (approximately €40,000) for specialist doctors, with at least 14 countries offering more than double that amount and 18 European countries surpassing Greece in doctors’ gross earnings.