The equivalent of an entire Greece plus half of Attica passed through the country’s NHS hospitals last year. According to data available to protothema.gr, nearly 12.5 million people visited the 126 public hospitals, seeking urgent or non-urgent medical care through Emergency Departments (EDs) and scheduled appointments at Regular Outpatient Clinics and afternoon (all-day) clinics.

This figure reflects the constant flow of citizens into the health system, the intensity with which patients and healthcare workers are tested daily, and the ongoing effort of the Ministry of Health to improve conditions in the NHS. It should be recalled that since last autumn a unified electronic appointment system has been launched for all Primary Health Care (PHC) and NHS facilities. Access is provided through three gateways: the two digital platforms MyHealth App and finddoctors.gov.gr, as well as the telephone line 1566.

Arrivals by department

Of the 12.5 million citizens who turned to the NHS (note that this does not correspond to unique patients), the majority sought and received medical examinations through Regular Outpatient Clinics (6,717,867 visits, an increase of 300,000 compared with 2024). Emergency Departments were used by 5,193,484 citizens, also significantly more than in 2024, when 4,839,771 citizens were served.

Paid visits to afternoon clinics declined in 2025: 565,152 visits were recorded, 21,143 fewer than in 2024. Health officials estimate that this reduction may be related to the fact that around one in ten NHS doctors now provides private services, which may be absorbing part of the demand. Analysis of the data by Health Region (YPE) shows which hospitals acted as key pillars of the health system and met population needs in each area. Attica remains pivotal, but Larissa, Patras, Heraklion, and Thessaloniki are emerging as strong hubs serving a significant number of citizens.

The University Hospital of Larissa stands out for the second consecutive year as first nationwide in number of visits, surpassing even the largest hospitals in Attica and Thessaloniki. The hospital recorded a record number in its Health Region and nationwide in Emergency Department visits: 132,923 people sought medical care in 2025, compared with 111,742 who visited the EDs of the Thessaly university hospital in 2024. In total, 320,276 visits were recorded there. The comparison with the hospital’s situation three years ago is striking: in 2025 visits increased by 42% compared with 2022, indicating a drastic improvement in provided health services.

In Attica

At the top of the list of hospitals in the Attica basin is the General Hospital of Nikaia “Agios Panteleimon,” which recorded 107,899 emergency patients, confirming its key role in covering the needs of the wider Piraeus and Western Attica areas.

Next comes “G. Gennimatas” Hospital with 105,047 emergency cases, followed by KAT Hospital in third place with 91,608 patients examined, mainly due to its specialization in trauma cases. Fourth and fifth places are held by “Red Cross” Hospital and Tzaneio Hospital, with 83,849 and 79,841 visits respectively, confirming the picture of overload at major hospitals. Notably absent from the top five are “Evangelismos” and “Attikon” hospitals, which until last year had a strong presence among on-call hospitals. In 2025, nearly 65,000 emergency arrivals were recorded at Evangelismos and 73,000 at Attikon.

The visits

Specialized hospitals (oncology, pediatric, psychiatric, dermatological, ophthalmological) continue to show consistently high and growing demand. Nearly 358,550 visits were recorded at the country’s four oncology/anti-cancer hospitals last year (“Agios Savvas,” “Metaxa,” “Agioi Anargyroi,” “Theageneio”).

More than 280,000 people turned to the Athens Hospital of Dermatological Diseases “Andreas Syngros,” which records some of the highest visit numbers across all clinic types: nearly 153,000 scheduled visits, 80,000 emergency visits, and almost 48,000 afternoon clinic visits. This figure is the second highest in the category of afternoon clinics within the NHS. First place is held by the University Hospital of Larissa (as also in Emergency Departments), with 50,714 recorded visits. Third place goes to KAT Hospital, which served 28,216 people during afternoon hours.

At the three pediatric hospitals of Attica (“Aglaia Kyriakou,” “Agia Sofia,” and Penteli Children’s Hospital), 357,169 children were examined, and about 73,000 at the Karamandaneio Hospital of Patras. Nearly 98,000 visits took place at the Athens Ophthalmology Hospital. Psychiatric hospitals recorded almost 88,000 visits, about half at the Psychiatric Hospital of Thessaloniki and the rest at the two psychiatric hospitals in Attica.

The university hospitals

Overall, more than 1.67 million people turned to university hospitals, confirming their central role in the health system. In four of the seven Health Regions, university hospitals “break the counter” in appointment numbers. In the 2nd Health Region of Attica, Piraeus, and the Aegean, 252,528 appointments were carried out last year at Attikon University General Hospital, followed by Nikaia General State Hospital with 178,577 appointments. In the 5th Health Region of Thessaly and Central Greece, Larissa University General Hospital ranked first both regionally and nationwide with 320,276 appointments, followed by Volos Hospital “Achillopouleio” with 165,654 visits. In the 6th Health Region of the Peloponnese, Western Greece, and the Ionian Islands, the University Hospital of Patras dominates with 208,586 appointments, and in the 7th Health Region of Crete, Heraklion University General Hospital recorded 282,288 appointments.