The government has had to carry out dramatic cuts in the public sector in order to restrict public spending, until the institutions and country’s creditors reopen funding lines to Greece. The first “victims” of the Ministry of Finances are the hospitals, with the Health Minister agreeing to slash monthly budgets by 51% of their current budget as of March.

The hospital managers were informed of the decision on Friday through the Health Ministry’s General Directorate of Financial Services and must cover wage, services and supplies expenses with 49% their budget. Many have expressed their concern and frustration over the announcement, as many warn they will be unable to covers basic needs.

According to documents revealed to To Vima, the hospitals received 99,740,000 euros in January 2014, while for March 2015 they will only receive 43,353,062 euros, instead of the 87,726,680 euros that were provided in the state budget.

It seems that the Ministries of Healthcare and Finances are carrying out the dramatic budget cut in order to prolong the period where the State can cover its basic needs without having to resort to lending. Similar cuts will probably be announced for other Ministries, as the government must secure the 1.4 billion euros to pay back to the IMF this month.