A meeting was held at the Maximos Mansion at noon, chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, regarding the donation decided by the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation for the expansion and renovation of the facilities of KAT General Hospital of Attica (GNA KAT).
During the meeting, the prioritization of the projects was examined, in order to give precedence to the most critical interventions and to minimize disruption to the hospital’s operations, which provides continuous 24/7 service.
The principal project will be the construction of a new building to house the operating theatres. Approximately 16,000 surgeries are performed at KAT each year, 40% of which are emergency procedures, while an average of 25,000 patients are hospitalized annually, making it the leading trauma and orthopaedic center in the Balkans.
“This is a very important day for the National Health System and especially for KAT, the largest trauma and orthopaedic hospital in the Balkans, as the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation has taken, in principle, a very significant decision: to financially support the full modernization of the hospital through major interventions, such as the construction of a new building that will house state-of-the-art operating theatres required for complex orthopaedic cases, as well as the complete renovation of the existing hospital,” the Prime Minister stated during the meeting.
“In this major effort to upgrade the National Health System, which the government has set as a priority, we consider it both a pleasure and an honour to support this initiative,” noted the President of the Foundation, Nellos Canellopoulos.
The new facilities will be designed in accordance with the highest standards for orthopaedic cases, with strict separation between clean and contaminated areas. The construction of the new building will ensure the uninterrupted operation of the hospital and will ultimately enable the optimal use of the existing operating rooms on the second floor of the main building, which have been heavily burdened due to many years of use and the high volume of cases.
The donation will also be allocated to the substantial renovation of medical units at KAT, including the departments of general surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, internal medicine, orthopaedics, thoracic surgery, and plastic surgery, as well as the replacement of hundreds of hospital beds. The planned interventions also include projects for the redevelopment of the hospital’s garden.
The donation of the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation, the result of months of cooperation with the Ministry of Health, follows a series of upgrades implemented at KAT over the past six years.
Completed projects include the enhancement of the Intensive Care Unit, which now operates 51 beds and ranks second in capacity among National Health System hospitals; the modernization and renovation of the Emergency Department, which receives an average of 89,000 patients annually; the installation of a patient tracking system (“wristband” system) in the Emergency Department; and the full renovation of the rehabilitation center.
Participants in the meeting included, on behalf of the Foundation, President of the Board Nellos Canellopoulos, Treasurer Alexandra Papalexopoulou–Benopoulou, and Foundation Advisor Alexis Komninos. Representing the government were Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis, Deputy Minister Marios Themistocleous, Secretary General to the Prime Minister Stelios Koutnatzis, and the Governor of KAT, Ioannis Iliopoulos.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the following statements were made:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis:
This is a very important day for the National Health System and especially for KAT, the largest trauma and orthopaedic hospital in the Balkans, as the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation has taken a very significant decision in principle: to financially support the full modernization of the hospital through major interventions, including the construction of a new building to house state-of-the-art operating theatres for complex orthopaedic cases, as well as the complete renovation of the existing hospital.
Very important interventions have already been carried out using national and European funds, including a significant increase in Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Unit beds during the Covid period, the new Emergency Departments where the “wristband” system is already in operation, and improvements on several floors of the hospital.
However, it is clear that much more needs to be done, and the fact that such a prominent Foundation is contributing to the broader effort to strengthen the National Health System is highly appreciated.
We have also seen a very significant intervention amounting to tens of millions of euros, which will begin to be implemented immediately after the ratification of the relevant donation agreement by the Hellenic Parliament.
Therefore, on behalf of the government, and I believe on behalf of all those who have used or may need to use the services of this hospital, which performs 16,000 surgeries annually, a very, very big thank you.
Nellos Canellopoulos:
The pleasure and honour are entirely ours. In this major effort to upgrade the National Health System, which the government has set as a priority, we too consider it a pleasure and an honour to support this initiative. It is our honour, and we will stand by you to meet this challenge. Thank you very much.
Adonis Georgiadis:
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Canellopoulos Foundation for its initiative to support the state.
The state has already invested significant public resources in KAT, the leading trauma hospital in the Balkans, but public resources alone are not sufficient. When a Foundation of such stature and history effectively chooses to support this hospital and ensure that, for decades to come, citizens will receive very high-level healthcare services when they need them, that is truly remarkable.
The Ministry of Health will be at the Foundation’s disposal to ensure that all procedures are carried out as swiftly and effectively as possible for the benefit of Greek patients. Thank you very much.