ATHENS – In yet another incident of growing violence in Greece’s capital, a gang of some 10 men assaulted a surgeon in the emergency unit of Nikaia General Hospital in a western neighborhood, upset a friend who was a stab victim wasn’t being treated fast enough.

The Athens and Piraeus Hospital Doctors’ Association (EINAP) and the federation representing public hospital workers, POEDIN, said it happened when a man who had arrived at the hospital after being stabbed phoned the men and told them to come help him deal with what he felt were unjustifiable delays by doctors.

“They literally beat a surgeon blue, hitting him with helmets and punching and kicking him,” POEDIN said, adding that the surgeon suffered multiple injuries including a broken nose and teeth.

There was no report of where hospital security was as there is constant frustration and even rage at hospitals where patients frequently have to wait hours for treatment after continued health care cuts by the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA.

The federation also denounced what it described as the indifference of the hospital director for not issuing a statement to condemn the incident, said Kathimerini, with no indication why that wasn’t done.