Nurses in Greek state hospitals on Thursday launched a strike as an act of protest against wage and personnel cuts, a union spokesman told the country’s national broadcaster.
The spokesman said that only emergency cases were being admitted for treatment.
Hundreds of nurses also took to the streets of Athens and other cities across the country.
Since Greece’s financial crisis erupted in 2010, budget issues prompted an estimated 18,000 doctors and thousands of nurses to emigrate, mostly to Britain, Germany and the Gulf states.
The union warned that budget cuts meant the health system could no longer function properly, with many
patients having to buy their own medication.
Greece emerged from the third and final bailout in August and is currently starting to relax the austerity measures it imposed as a condition for receiving the rescue package.
(dpa/NAN)