Greek Hospital Removed ALS Patient, 27, From Private Room to Favor an Official
A 27-year-old woman with ALS was forced out of her private hospital room at Venizeleio General Hospital in Crete so the room could be given to a hospital official as a favor, according to reports published this week by patris.gr.
The patient, who has a tracheostomy and gastrostomy tube and is currently fighting a serious infection, was moved to an eight-person ward before staff pushback forced the hospital to transfer her to a different private room in the internal medicine ward. She was not left in the shared ward, but the incident has prompted sharp criticism from hospital workers and patient advocates.
"Patient treatment must be based on medical need, not personal connections or job titles" — Dimitris Flitzanis, Venizeleio hospital workers' union head
Dimitris Flitzanis, the head of the Venizeleio hospital workers' union, confirmed the incident and called it unacceptable. He demanded the hospital administration explain why a bedridden young woman with a severe illness was displaced from her room, saying that patient treatment must be based on medical need, not personal connections or job titles.
The Motor Neuron Disease Association of Greece also responded, emphasizing that patients in advanced stages of ALS require a private room environment to minimize infection risk, maintain clinical stability, and preserve basic dignity.
Former regional hospital administrator Evangelia Fanouraki added a pointed question: if the official's procedure was routine, why wasn't it carried out at a smaller hospital in the region, such as Agios Nikolaos, where bed occupancy in general surgery reportedly averages just three patients?
The hospital administration has not publicly responded to the calls for an explanation.
