One in two Greeks postpones seeking medical advice, four in ten patients cannot afford to pay patient’s participation in the purchase of prescription medication due to lack of economic means. This was revealed by the president of the program “Health for All,” Eleni Sotiropoulou. Groups most affected by the economic crisis are experiencing social and economic exclusion and have no access to health and social care services, she said.
Health for All is a program under the auspices of UNESCO and the Universities of Athens, Patras and Crete, started its activity in November 2016. It has developed a large network of solidarity to which 40 scientific bodies, 240 academics, 80 physicians and other members of the health sector participate. It offers health checks and vaccines free of charge to all vulnerable groups of the society, “from babies to seniors,” to poor and uninsured, to Roma and unaccompanied migrant children, to residents of mountainous areas and remote islands.
- 3,375 children were vaccinated
- 114 children underwent dental control
- 556 women underwent cancer tests
- 1,220 people underwent medical control by physicians, cardiologists and other health specialists
The people examined by the HfA program had abandoned their health care. Many of them did not even have a health booklet, children never had a vaccine and were not examined by a pediatrician not even once. Others have never visited a physician or a cardiologist. Some had never had a blood test and had never measured their blood pressure.
