“Of all the damage done during the last five years, healthcare has been hit the worst.”
The Greek healthcare system is in meltdown after years of austerity. State-run hospitals have had to slash budgets but as much as 50% in that time. Basic supplies such as gloves, syringes, gauze, cotton wool, catheters and paper towels have long been in low supply. The numbers of doctors and nurses is critically low.
Rising poverty and rocketing unemployment has left 2.5 million Greeks – a quarter of the population – without national state healthcare coverage (Health benefits are only available for up to a year after losing a job, after which patients must pay for their own treatment). - The UK Guardian
While the Greek banking system is making the headlines, nothing is said about the health care system.
Five years ago, most of the patients at this clinic were refugees or other foreign nationals with no access to healthcare. Now, the 1,500 patients who come each month are largely Greeks, many of whom once ran businesses or shops in the city but who are now unemployed and with no healthcare access.And no end in sight.
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