Important changes in Primary Healthcare are around the corner in Greece, based on a bill being brought to Parliament, by the Ministry for Health.
By June, the first 60 Primary Healthcare units will be created in various cities and towns around the Country.
With 239 outpatient care units within urban environments and 1,300 new family doctors, the Ministry is attempting the creation of a frontline Primary Healthcare sector.
With this new intervention, the aim is to relieve the pressure of the workload in the outpatient departments of the hospitals, where 5.5 million people are treated annually. Simple health issues will now be dealt with away from the hospitals, by local, neighbourhood doctors, who will have a full history of each of their patients.
These measures were presented in Parliament yesterday, ahead of a parliamentary discussion, before the final bill is submitted in May.
In case of the need for further tests, the doctor will be responsible for the cooperation with laboratories or external medical facilities which will have contracts with the local unit.
When the family doctor decides that a patient should be seen at a hospital, he will make the appointment on behalf of the patient, with access that he will have with the hospital, for more urgent cases.
Appointments made by doctors for their patients at hospitals, will have priority over patients who make their own appointments directly, except in cases of acute emergencies.
The hours of operation for these local units will be Monday to Friday with two shifts – 8am until 3pm and 2pm until 9pm. The Minister added that a 24 hour system would be considered in larger urban areas.
The third pillar of the new system will be the doctors who have private practices, who will sign new contracts with the Ministry and will take responsibility for a fixed number of patients.
It is estimated that each pathologist or G.P, will have 2,000 to 2,500 patients on his register, a pediatrician will have 1,000 to 1,500 patients and a microbiologist will cover 25,000 to 30,000 residents in each area.
The first contracts will begin to be signed and units will begin to be operational this year, with additional facilities being added in stages.