Hot spot staff warn of strain as arrivals spike

Amid concerns over a rise in migrant arrivals from Turkey, staff at Greece's reception and identification centers (RICs), commonly known as "hot spots," wrote to Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas to complain about deteriorating conditions on the island facilities.

In their letter, workers warned about shortages in medical personnel following the government's decision to terminate cooperation with humanitarian organizations and pass on responsibility for recruitments to the Health Ministry.

"For about a month in mid-summer, the Kos RIC was left without a single nurse for a population of 850 with a high morbidity rate," the workers said, stressing the high number of psychological disorders and pregnancies. Employees added they have had to purchase office supplies and bring in their own computers due to a lack of resources. "There is plenty of money from European funds...