Quality & Environment

Chiefly aiming to provide quality healthcare services focusing on people, the Euroclinic Group takes into serious consideration and deems valuable the opinion of each patient visiting or being hospitalized in one of the Group hospitals. To this end, as of 2018, it has been conducting patient and caregiver satisfaction surveys among those who chose the Athens Euroclinic or the Euroclinic Children’s Hospital for their medical needs, using their comments and remarks constructively.

According to the results of the most recent quarterly (November 2018 – January 2019) survey conducted by an independent external market research company 9 out of 10 patients who visited or were hospitalized in the Euroclinic hospitals stated they were extremely satisfied with the services and care they received during their stay at the Group’s medical facilities. Specifically, 80% of inpatients stated they were extremely satisfied at a rate higher than 90%. The rates for outpatients were similar, since 20% of those asked stated they were extremely satisfied, at a rate of 89.9% for the adult hospital and 95.7% for the children’s hospital.

Some of the factors contributing to the very positive evaluation by the majority of patients include the warm welcoming of patients, their direct and immediate service, the fully trained medical and nursing staff, and the patient-friendly hospital environment. As one of the leaders in the private healthcare industry, we consider it our obligation to share our performance across all patient service and care sectors with absolute transparency, placing the bar even higher in terms of quality healthcare. We pledge that your opinion will be our driving force, so that we may continue to grow and improve, demonstrating the highest quality indicators.

At the Athens Euroclinic SA, the management as well as the medical, nursing, auxiliary and administrative staff are committed to delivering quality healthcare services, paying unwavering attention to the clinical treatment and safety of the patients entrusting their healthcare to us.

Top-level quality constitutes a strategic priority for the entire company. We are proud of our patient-centered corporate mentality and we aspire to:

• Constitute the first choice for patients and associate physicians because they offer unrivaled, quality healthcare services.
• Be recognized as two of the leading institutions in the area of private healthcare.
• Comply fully with the national and EU legislation.
• Offer healthcare services noted for being financially just, safe, effective and suitable.
• Focus equally on treatment, prevention and early diagnosis.
• Respect the rights of patients and offer equal services to all, irrespective of cultural and religious beliefs.
• Be patient-friendly at all times, whether it is adults or children.

We follow the guidelines laid down by the Quality Management System and fully comply with the ISO 9001:2015 and EN 15224:2012 standards. The quality policies and procedures have been integrated in the everyday operation of the company. Moreover, they are fully understood and are applied at all company levels. All of the Group’s activities are well documented and are safeguarded by repeated, measurable and fixed procedures. Special attention is paid to the constant improvement of the procedures by:

• Managing the procedure reviews.
• Managing technological changes.
• Identifying and resolving issues on time.
• Monitoring potential risks through special risk analysis and assessment studies.
• Monitoring and managing potential opportunities.

The management as well as the medical, nursing, auxiliary and administrative staff actively participate in the effective management of the Group’s Quality System and are responsible for implementing it within their departments, as well as for monitoring and achieving the company’s quality objectives.

Taking the lead in quality healthcare services, the Athens Euroclinic and Euroclinic Children’s Hospital became the first hospitals in Greece and Europe to have been certified as Patients Friendly Hospitals. Euroclinic was the first to pave the way, placing the patient at the center.

The Patients Friendly Hospitals guideline relates to designing and applying practices at hospitals and clinics to create a friendly environment for patients, relatives and caregivers. As the first hospitals in Greece and Europe to receive this international certification, the Athens Euroclinic and Euroclinic Children’s Hospital aspire to secure the best possible conditions for patients during their hospitalization.

The key aim is for patients, and their network of support, to feel comfortable, safe and secure. Special care is taken so that patients are never alone in difficult times, and that all their needs and expectations are met. They are also encouraged to submit their remarks and complaints, actively participating in the ongoing improvement of the services offered.

To create the necessary conditions that certify it as a Patients Friendly Hospital, Euroclinic chooses its staff based on specific criteria and ensures their ongoing training. It also sets up service points for inpatients and outpatients, while it educates and updates relatives and caregivers on the policies and procedures in place.

Backed by its qualified and dedicated medical, nursing and administrative staff, the Euroclinic Group has reached the highest level in terms of quality in healthcare services.

The new private Centers of Excellence (2017) protocol is testament to its unique expertise in specific areas of medicine.

Euroclinic runs two certified Centers of Excellence.

THYROID AND PARATHYROID SURGERY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

The Athens Euroclinic SA boasts the first certified Center of Excellence in Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery (November 2017), for the expert services offered under Mr. Evangelos Karvounis and his team.

The Euroclinic Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Center stands out for:

• Providing comprehensive medical/nursing care to patients within an environment marked by a high level of safety.
• Encouraging ongoing education and training for all team members.
• Participating in research programs and scientific partnerships in Greece and abroad.
• Managing a very large number of cases compared to the international practices.
• Having very low complication rates during and after surgery.
• Having a very small number of readmissions within 30 days post-surgery.

MODEL CARDIAC SURGERY CENTER FOR TOTAL ARTERIAL MYOCARDIAL REVASCULARIZATION

The second Center of Excellence is the Model Cardiac Surgery Center for Total Arterial Myocardial Revascularization (May 2018), which offers expert services under Mr. Ioannis Chlorogiannis and his team.

The Center has been certified for the use of mammary arteries by Mr. Ioannis Chlorogiannis in surgical bypasses (arterial grafts).

The Center stands out for:

• Using this method, which is not often used in Greece and abroad, despite the excellent clinical results it achieves. In Greece, Mr. Chlorogiannis paves the way in the use of this method.
• Having very low complication rates post-surgery.
• Having a very low mortality rate.
• Having a very low rate of readmissions within 30 days post-surgery.
• Boasting a low hospitalization average of patients.

Euroclinic Group, offering its comprehensive top quality healthcare services from the heart of Athens, has developed and implements an Environmental Management System according to ISO 14001:2015 standards, aimed to reduce its environmental footprint, enhance sustainability and tackle the challenges of climate change. The Group is committed to sustainable operations, mitigating its impact on the environment and promoting practices which contribute to environmental preservation while ensuring community safety.

Euroclinic Group has developed a framework of actions for:

1. Efficient energy consumption and CO₂ emissions reduction
2. Water resources protection
3. Waste management
4. Environmental awareness

In pursuit of the aforementioned core objectives, Euroclinic Group has taken the following steps:

• Compliance with environmental legislation currently in force.
• Use of LED lighting.
• Use of energy-efficient appliances.
• Partnerships with energy providers which give Guarantees of Origin, so that for every unit of energy the Group uses an equal amount of power is generated solely by means of renewable energy sources.
• Continuous investment in energy savings.
• Replacing central AC cooling pumps with state-of-the-art inverter air conditioners.
• New high-efficiency condensing boilers.
• Water conservation and savings systems (photocell faucets).
• Appropriate waste management in collaboration with an expert company.
• Recycling and using less paper, aluminum and plastic, leading in turn to less non-hazardous waste.
• Microbial wastewater treatment so that such waste may eventually enter the sewage network after rendering.
• Keeping the use of toxic and hazardous material to a minimum.
• Use of environment-friendly materials wherever possible.
• Moving our corporate fleet over to electric and plug-in hybrid cars and installing plug-in charging stations.
• Outreach for taking action on societal and environmental issues.
• Measuring, monitoring, and assessing environmental goals along with the continuous monitoring and evaluation of our Environmental Management System.
• Promoting staff education and awareness-raising as to the environmental practices that the Group follows.
• Raising the awareness of partners about environmental issues.
• Preventive measures to combat climate change.

As part of its Quality Policy, the Euroclinic Group implements a Food Safety Management System at Euroclinic for all food prepared onsite and distributed to the hospital patients, in accordance with the official regulations, as well as the general requirements of ISO 22000 and the Codex Alimentarius standards.

The implemented System ensures that random food-related risks are minimized for patients and their caregivers. It focuses on:

1. Identifying raw materials and direct-contact packaging.
2. Identifying prepared food.
3. Identifying the food preparation and management steps.
4. Recording the potential risks throughout the food preparation and management procedure, given that proper hygiene practices are implemented.
5. Checking, monitoring and reviewing that the legislative provisions and relevant specifications are implemented properly.

At the Athens Euroclinic, you can share with us your impression of your visit to our facilities. Whether you are an inpatient or an outpatient, you can fill out a satisfaction questionnaire, available at various points throughout the Hospital. You can also participate in the satisfaction survey over the phone or even online if you wish, in which case we send the satisfaction questionnaire to your email.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR COMPLAINT

If, during your hospitalization or visit, you wish to submit a complaint or even a suggestion for improving our services, you are welcome to fill in the relevant complaint and suggestion form available at various points throughout the Hospital.

Euroclinic has adopted and implements a documented complaint management and resolution procedure, which aims to improve the quality of the services offered, respects its clients’ personal data and uses the information it receives for the sole purpose of investigating the complaint.