[MGSA-L] Greece's deepening health crisis: Study details signs of the nation's deterioration in health

[June Samaras]

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-02-greece-deepening-health-crisis-nation.html

Greece's deepening health crisis: Study details signs of the nation's
deterioration in health

Greece's health crisis is worsening as a result of continued healthcare
budget cuts, says a new study published in the medical journal, The Lancet.
Researchers say the harmful effects of austerity are linked to the
increasing inability of patients to access the health system, large rises
in the incidence of infectious disease, and a deterioration in the overall
mental health of Greek people.

The authors from the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine find that Greece has had
the largest cutbacks to the health sector seen across Europe, as the
bailout package capped public expenditure at 6% of GDP. For example, from
2009 to 2011, the public hospital budget was reduced by over 25%. Greece's
public spending on health is now less than any of the other pre-2004
European Union members.

Lead author of the study, Alexander Kentikelenis of Cambridge University,
said: 'The data reveals that the Greek welfare state has failed to protect
people at the time they needed support the most. A rapidly growing number
of Greeks are losing access to healthcare from budget cuts and
unemployment.'

Senior author Dr David Stuckler from the University of Oxford said: 'The
Greek government –along with their European partners – appears to have been
in denial about austerity's severe impact on health. The cost of austerity
is being borne mainly by ordinary Greek citizens, who have been affected by
the largest cutbacks to the health sector seen across Europe in modern
times. We hope this research will help the Greek government mount an
urgently needed response to these escalating human crises.'
At a time of increasing health need and falling incomes, Greece's bailout
agreement stipulated shifting the cost of healthcare to patients. The Greek
government introduced new charges for visits to outpatient clinics and
higher costs for medicines. General health services were also eroded, says
the paper. The authors' analysis of the latest available data from the EU
Statistics on Income and Living Conditions revealed a 47% rise in people
who felt they did not receive medically necessary healthcare. This increase
was linked to a rising inability to afford care and the costs of travel to
access health services, according to the authors. Rapidly increasing
unemployment since 2009 meant a growing number of people no longer had any
form of health cover, with an estimated 800,000 without unemployment
benefits or the ability to access health services.

The paper details signs of the nation's deterioration in health including:
HIV incidence has risen in injecting drug-users more than 10-fold from 2009
to 2012
Tuberculosis incidence among injecting drug users more than doubled in 2013
State funding for mental health decreased by 55% between 2011 and 2012
Major depression increased 2.5-fold between 2008 and 2011
Suicides increased by 45% between 2007 and 2011
Infant mortality jumped by 43% between 2008 and 2010
The proportion of children at risk of poverty increased from 28 in 2007 to
30% in 2011

The authors note that experiences of other countries that have overcome
financial crises, such as Iceland and Finland, suggest that by ring-fencing
health and social budgets, governments can avoid some of the harmful
effects of crisis taking their toll on the health of their populations.
The study concludes that the Greek health-care system was in grave need of
reform before the crisis, but the scale and speed of imposed change limited
its capacity to respond to its population's increased health needs.
The authors conclude: 'The foundations for a well functioning health-care
system need structures that are accountable and coordinated—not denialism.
These findings suggest that the people of Greece deserve better.'

Explore further: Study reveals austerity's harmful impact on health in
Greece

More information:

www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-67361362291-6/abstract

Journal reference: The Lancet
Provided by Oxford University
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June Samaras
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Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : june.samaras at gmail.com
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