Trying not to get sick - The public and private health system in my country

I don’t know about you guys but the health system in Greece just sucks! It is unbelievable!

In the last few days we had a family problem with a close relative of mine who needed a doctors’ assistance. Needless to say, the services were, the least, disappointing.

My relative, who lives outside of Athens, has only public health care coverage and she has ached for many months. She goes in and out of doctors’ exam rooms & hospitals trying to figure out where the ache comes from. Lastly, on Saturday she came to Athens and on Sunday she went to the public hospital with the intension to get admitted and take the necessary steps (exams, surgery if needed etc) to get to the root of the problem.

Unfortunately, she waited for FIVE hours in the waiting room, aching and no-one paid attention to her. No-one called out her name to take her for examination and prepare her for the next step. No-one. And she is 85 years old, aching…

Another example: myself. I have faced a lot of medical problems in the last five years which resulted to a lot of medication, pain, four surgeries and much suffering.

The last problem I faced concerned aches in my insides. I ached for many many years, since I was a little girl and at some point this peaked. Doctors couldn’t find out what it was. I reached the point where I couldn’t eat at all. Again, I told the doctors, entered a private hospital, stayed in for five days to be fed, take a bunch of medication, and do some exams which indicated that PERHAPS a surgery is needed, but: instead of going to surgery at once, they programmed it for 10-days after my check out! Because of doctors’ unavailability! In a private hospital! And I was not being fed! I lost 20 pounds and ached. I checked out, stayed at home for ten days waiting for the doctors’ availability and then did the surgery! The positive is that indeed surgery was needed, and it was a serious one. Add to this story that I paid a lot of money! Un-believable…

A friend of mine felt a lump and doctors in public hospital told her to take a biopsy. The biopsy was taken in July-end and the results were available three days ago. This means that in the public healthcare system, she waited for 45 days to find out if she has cancer! Can you imagine the anxiety?

Is this the case in your country too? Is the system inadequate?