"In a letter to the Lancet medical journal, a team lead by Dr Alexander Kentikelenis and Dr David Stuckler from Cambridge University and Professor Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine warns of a potential "Greek tragedy". They point to signs of a dramatic decline in the health of the population and a deterioration of services at hospitals under financial pressure."
Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
False
News & media
Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
Debate current medical affairs
With the recent turmoil in Greece - I was wondering if any of our Greek doctors could update us on the current situation in the country Is it affecting citizen's access to medical treatment and care?
0
Cat:OffDutyForum:NewsMedia
Cat:OffDutyForum:NewsMediaDiscussion:53c29d0e-5239-4808-9dcc-0333283c86c9
Forums » Off duty » News & media » Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
|
Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 10/8/2011 4:00 PM BST
on bmj.com
|
|
*Moderator*
Posts: 1447
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
With the recent turmoil in Greece - I was wondering if any of our Greek doctors could update us on the current situation in the country Is it affecting citizen's access to medical treatment and care? How about the other countries like Spain, Italy and Ireland, that are affected by the problems with the Euro - what changes are you seeing? |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 12/8/2011 12:19 PM BST
on bmj.com
|
Posts: 579
First: 8/6/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
In the last 20-30 years huge amounts of money was coming in from the European assistance and from loans. The direct result is that the Greek economy is in atrophy now. The Greek state had not the need to make a productive economy , because money was coming in anyway from the banks! The money was not used to grow productivity but to grow consumption. This "help" did more bad than good. Before geting in to European Union Greece was an independent economic state ; now is not! And observing the similar economic situation of most European states i can say finally that only the Germans and the scandinavian states had and have patriotic '' thinktanks'' on the guidance of their economy. Anyway, now, more patients go to public hospitals than before, because they have not the money to go to private doctors. There are some rumors that some public hospitals may close but i don t think that this is possible to happen. |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 18/9/2011 9:28 PM BST
on bmj.com
|
|
Posts: 579
First: 8/6/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
Until now have not chainced much. Only our salaries are smaller and the taxes are biger...I think their is no goverment who could touch the helth system. ( in the sense of making it more dificult to be aproached from the pacients or to lower the services) ( a revolution will start for sure if these will be done...) But what is happening in the UK? i read in the newspapers that are comming changes to the nhs but i can not undertand . Can someone give us a picture of what is going on in England? |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 27/9/2011 12:34 PM BST
on bmj.com
|
Posts: 636
First: 13/1/2009 Last: 24/8/2012 |
Here in Portugal , the budget deficit in the health sector is massive, and so there is a lot of pressure to continue to cut down on expenses. Some measures have already been announced (http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d5437.full?sid=a8730441-d511-4622-9104-650e00d2072b ), and I fear further cuts will hit health professionals, as the Government is freezing admissions of new doctors into the public administration (Portuguese NHS doctors are public servants) and many locum doctor and nurse jobs are expected to be axed. Roughly 15% of the population in Portugal does not have a GP, and many locum doctors and nurses are the ones that are keeping many services running since there are simply not enough GP's being trained to replace those that are retiring. This may have dire consequences for the population, who will increasingly have to resort to private providers. The problem is that most people can't afford private care, and I am seeing many people who for some reason used to be able to afford private doctors or had a private medical provider through their employer and now can't either afford or have lost those perks. As a GP locum myself, I'm not even sure if I will still have a job by the end of the year! |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 10/10/2011 10:26 AM BST
on bmj.com
|
|
*Moderator*
Posts: 1447
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
The Lancet have published a letter about the effects that the austerity measures in Greece are having on health. The Guardian report: |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 10/10/2011 11:41 AM BST
on bmj.com
|
Posts: 2947
First: 10/3/2009 Last: 29/4/2013 |
But Greece is listed 13th on the medical Richter Scale where Australia in 32nd! Is Greece now in an iron lung? I doubt it. It will stand like it did against the Persians in the shade of arrows! Austerity of WW2 led to an improvement in UK cardiovascular mortality(so I am told) and if all Greeks started to eatmore of the food of Homer than McDonalds and use the more of the herbs of Hippocrates, well maybe it will not be a tragedy after all but perhaps turn out as a modern version of The Frogs and with fewer Greeks croaking it. I so enjoyed The Frogs. (I speak as one who has learned Greek for three years, or is it four? and who loves Crete and Greece.) Ela Hellas, you can beat this. |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 10/10/2011 3:59 PM BST
on bmj.com
|
|
*Moderator*
Posts: 1447
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
The London Evening Standard reports that Greek patients are coming over to Kings College Hospital in London, and having treatment done but being discharged without paying for the service, leaving £1.8m in unpaid fees. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23995716-greek-patients-leave-london-hospital-pound-2m-debt-after-treatment.do |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 11/10/2011 3:43 PM BST
on bmj.com
|
|
*Moderator*
Posts: 1447
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
Problems in Spain: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/health-us-spain-healthcare-idUKTRE79A1S120111011 Some medical suppliers who supply surgical swabs to disinfectants are struggling to pay workers because local govts are unable to pay them because of the nation and Euro's debt crisis. There is a general election in November, where the People's Party (a conservative leaning party) are expected to beat the current socialist party. The PP are expected to slash social welfare programs which the current govt have largely kept untouched. Can any spanish members shed any more light on the situation?? |
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 12/10/2011 3:19 AM BST
on bmj.com
|
|
Posts: 2947
First: 10/3/2009 Last: 29/4/2013 |
In Response to Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?: The London Evening Standard reports that Greek patients are coming over to Kings College Hospital in London, and having treatment done but being discharged without paying for the service, leaving £1.8m in unpaid fees. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23995716-greek-patients-leave-london-hospital-pound-2m-debt-after-treatment.do Posted by mbillingsley I.8 million pounds is about the same a stock market trader's takings for an afternoon and about one squillion times less than the UK spends on nuclear submarines in a year. In Australia we spend $10 billion per annum on aborginal health covering 3 million square miles which equates to $100 per billabong and $10 per gum tree. Thus the expenditure on Greeks who have moonlight laparoscopies in the UK would seem small beer (viz. ouzaki) for Magna Britannica. But I could be wrong.
|
|
|
Re: Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
posted at 19/10/2011 11:28 AM BST
on bmj.com
|
|
Posts: 579
First: 8/6/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
Greece started in 2009 with a dept. From then the europian union guids our economie. Everything what is hapening from then is uder the guidance of the europian union. Greeks have done everyting that the europeans required to be done! Now in every ministry of greece their is and a european reperezentative who controlls everything to be done us the european union wands to be done. The big problem for us ( Greeks) is that we see that the dept now ( after 2 years of european guidance) is going to be double ! And if you remember that the Greek primeminister together with the Germans started first screaming about Greece 's dept and incopetence telling to all the word that Greeks are broken and noncompetitiv, you will take a very bad picture. Now some fost members of the economic statistics of the state say that they were forced before two years to say that the dept was biger than it really was.The justice is working now in these complaints.. My opinion is that all these is comming because of lose of ideologies and moral principles. Steping on these a new order trying to come . Greece is the experiment and the first victim many others will follow... And comming back to our subject If these will continiu ..only who has the money will be treated the rest... will ramain without helth care. |
Forums » Off duty » News & media » Greek/Euro financial crisis - is it affecting health systems?
