Thessaloniki: unlicensed oncology ward discovered inside a private clinic — sealing expected

An oncology ward operating without a license inside a private clinic in Thessaloniki was discovered by inspectors of the Thessaloniki Regional Service of the National Transparency Authority, following a complaint. The inspection’s purpose was to establish whether the ward’s operation was lawful, particularly regarding staff adequacy, Hellasjournal reports with information from ERTnews.

According to the findings, the oncology ward was not operating lawfully: the clinic’s valid operating license did not provide for its operation. The ward operated with a single doctor — a pulmonologist specialized in lung oncology — to whom the clinic had made available an office without a written contract. Moreover, the clinic had published on its website informational material, including video, appearing to show a fully equipped oncology ward, with a biological safety room for handling chemotherapeutic drugs, although it did not hold the required legal license.

Inspectors also found the clinic did not employ the wards’ scientific responsible doctors in an employment relationship and had not concluded written contracts with other doctors, contrary to legislation; it did not have sufficient nursing staff and had no staff at all in necessary specialties, such as radiologist, nor did it have an Intensive Care Unit in operation, as mandatorily provided by legislation according to its capacity.

According to the report, since 2022 the pulmonologist doctor had been prescribing chemotherapeutic drugs from the clinic’s office for his patients, whose administration was then carried out in the clinic’s “oncology ward,” while their preparation was undertaken by the clinic’s staff; the doctor is considered co-responsible for the ward’s unlawful operation. A sample of his patients were admitted to the clinic on the order of another clinic doctor for multi-day hospitalization with diagnoses unrelated to malignant disease, while during this hospitalization certain chemotherapeutic drugs were administered — signs of submitting inaccurate data to EOPYY for reimbursement of the clinic’s hospitalizations.

The private clinics’ control commission had carried out in 2025 an extraordinary inspection and had found the lack of nursing staff needed for safe operation, proposing the revocation of the good-operation certificate — which happened at the start of 2026 — as well as the final cessation of the clinic’s operation with the removal of its license; however, the Public Health Directorate did not implement the cessation, although it had the proposal, and disciplinary responsibility is being sought for this negligence.

The control report has been sent to the Athens Appeals prosecutor for seeking possible criminal responsibilities, to EOPYY for its actions regarding the accuracy of the data the clinic submitted for reimbursement, and to the competent medical association for disciplinary responsibility. According to the decision, the clinic’s sealing is expected within the coming hours, with its handover by the judicial bailiff.