Thessaloniki: clinic running illegal chemotherapy sealed, licence revoked

A private clinic in Thessaloniki was sealed today after an audit by the National Transparency Authority uncovered a fully equipped oncology department operating without the required licence, where illegal chemotherapies were being performed, as Skai and ERT report.

Judicial bailiffs delivered today, just before noon, the decision of the Thessaloniki Region revoking the clinic’s operating licence — a decision announced a day earlier by regional vice-governor Kostas Goutikas.

The audit’s findings have been forwarded to the Athens Court of Appeal prosecution for possible criminal liability, to EOPYY for review of the reimbursement claims the clinic had submitted for patient hospitalisations, and to the Medical Association for disciplinary liability. A preliminary investigation has also been launched.

Outside the clinic, relatives of patients have gathered, seeking information about the continuation of medical care. One man claimed that his 92-year-old mother, hospitalised for rehabilitation, was dehydrated — allegedly from lack of water being given — and died several days later at the 424 General Military Hospital, not at the clinic itself. Another woman claimed she saw a nurse hitting an elderly patient, intervening and protesting at the moment. Skai stresses these are the relatives’ own claims, which are being investigated by the competent authorities.

Relatives of current patients say they learned of the developments from the media and not from the clinic itself, and express fear over the care of bedridden patients. For its part, the clinic’s management has assured that medical care continues.

The discovery of the unlicensed department had been reported yesterday, while today’s sealing marks the new and decisive step in this medical scandal that has shaken Thessaloniki.