Outbreak of respiratory viruses test endurance of Greek health system

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - The outbreak of respiratory diseases in Greece is testing the endurance of the country’s health care system, media reports said Saturday.a

The situation is particularly pressing in the public hospital in the Attica region, which includes Athens, according to state-run news agency AMNA, citing a pulmonology specialist at the National University of Athens, Yannis Kalomenidis.

Kalomenidis noted that available beds had become scarce in the emergency room and warned that the picture could get grimmer in February and March with the anticipated spread of new hyper-contagious coronavirus sub-variants.

Arguing that the current bad shape of the health care system is also related to its structure, he said it “could have been avoided if the primary healthcare system was functioning.”

According to the World Health Organization, the primary health care system is a whole-of-society approach to health that aims at ensuring the highest possible level of health and well-being and equitable distribution by focusing on patients’ needs and as early as possible along the continuum from health promotion and disease prevention for treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care, and as close as feasible to people’s everyday environment.​​​​​​​