Quality of care: examples of best practice
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In Greece the examples of best practice in health care services addressing migrants are very few. In the National Health System no intercultural services, information in other languages, except Greek, and interpretation services are available. Isolated examples of best practice mainly refer to practices and projects of NGOs offering health care services and psychosocial support to undocumented migrants, refugees and minorities.
Doctors of the World, PRAKSIS, Greek Council for Refugees, Hellenic Red Cross and Medécins Sans Frontières are active in providing health care services, counseling and information on welfare, and psychosocial support to undocumented migrants, refugees and minorities. Two of the NGOs run health units (polyclinics) in Athens, Thessaloniki and Crete providing free primary health care services, medication and psychosocial support to people who do not have access to the National Health System, primarily undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers. The Greek Council for Refugees and the Hellenic Red Cross provide councelling services and psychosocial support at refugee camps. Some of the organisations use interpretation services however this is not a universal practice.
Other initiatives, after 2000, involve mental health projects. The programmes "Psychadelfeia" and "Psychargo", under the aegis of the Health Ministry, provision the establishment and support of structures providing mental health and psychosocial services to less privileged groups. More specifically in the framework of the programmes, Day Centers catering for migrants and minorities (Roma and Greek Muslims) have been established. Klimaka is an NGO operating Day Centers for members of the minority groups since 2005. Moreover since 2007 the NGO “Syn-eirmos” is operating the Day Center Babel, in the center of Athens, whose services are addressed to migrants with mental health problems or in risk of developing mental health problems. The psychiatric clinic of Aiginition hospital also operates an intercultural unit for migrants and refugees, twice a week. However the large majority of migrants cannot benefit from the above mentioned structures and programmes due to their limited scope in terms of the number of potential recipients. For that reason, such initiatives, alternative to the National Health System, should be encouraged and supported, yet cannot solve problems alone.
There is a need for coordinated measures to combat bureaucracy, to diffuse cultural sensitivity among practitioners, to train informed and language-competent staff, and to ensure the availability and accessibility of information on health issues, etc. Indeed very recently, in 2008, the leadership of the Ministry of Health has announced its intention to establish a migrant health observatory along European patterns.
Doctors of the World (MEDECINS DU MONDE)-GREECE
Services of the Greek Council for Refugees
Intercultural phyciatric service
National Centre for Immediate Social Assistance
Municipality of Athens services to migrants
Observatory for migrants' health, iatrikionline.gr, 31/01/08
