Greece failing to provide adequate geriatric care
The Hellenic Society for the Study & Research of Aging (EEMEG) is calling on the state, the academic community, the medical world and the public to take initiatives for the institutionalization of geriatrics in Greece, which is one of the few countries of the Western world where this specialty is not a recognized branch of medicine.
EEMEG said the state must recognize geriatrics as a medical specialization and proceed with drafting a national plan to address the issue, including the creation of structures and services for the needs of the elderly.
“We are not giving older people the opportunities they need to get the best possible treatment. In the country of Hippocrates, geriatrics does not exist,” said EEMEG head Athanasios Benetos.
Greece’s stagnancy in the field has resulted in older people receiving fragmented care, families often feeling helpless and doctors encountering difficulties in dealing with the medical problems they face.
