Part of a ceiling collapsed on Monday, August 10, 2026, at Venizeleio Hospital in Heraklion, Crete, sending large chunks of plaster and other debris crashing onto the floor of an office used by surgical staff physicians.
At the time of the incident the office, located in the Surgical Clinic wing of the hospital, happened to be empty. However, the hospital’s Union of Employees underlined that “the fact that no employee was in that specific spot at that moment is not a sign of safety measures in place. It was pure luck.”
A pattern, not an accident
Monday’s collapse was not an isolated event. The union noted that a similar incident occurred at the hospital in September 2025, when part of the ceiling had fallen. They pointed to Monday’s collapse as a confirmation that the main building is facing serious and steadily worsening structural problems.
Venizeleio Hospital’s central building dates to 1950 and is in use by large numbers of staff, patients and visitors, daily, a fact the union says makes the deteriorating infrastructure especially urgent.
A renovation study has already been completed for the building, according to the union, and it acknowledges the facility’s aging infrastructure, calling for, among other things, a full assessment of the building’s existing structural framework and engineering studies for reinforcement work wherever it is needed.
The bill: about $40 million
The union said the project is no longer at an early planning stage. The engineering studies have been finished and the required administrative procedures have moved forward, it said. What remains outstanding is securing the funding.
According to figures cited by the union, the project would require:
- Roughly 35 million euros for the renovation and reconfiguration of the main hospital building
- Roughly 5 million euros for upgrading the surrounding grounds
That puts the total cost at approximately 40 million euros.
“Thirty five million to save and modernize the main building. Five million for the surrounding grounds,” the union said in its statement. “And zero for further excuses.”
