Thousands missing out on palliative care in Greece

Up to 135,000 people in Greece require relief from the pain of terminal illnesses yet only around 10 percent of them receive the appropriate treatment as there is no institutional framework for the dispensing of palliative care.

According to a report carried out by a Health Ministry committee in cooperation with the executive director of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance, Stephen Connor, and whose results were made public on Friday, Greece lags behind its European Union counterparts in terms of offering palliative care, together with Bulgaria, Estonia and Latvia.

In Greece, the relief is chiefly offered by nongovernment organizations via three programs while the 57 “pain clinics” in Greek hospitals mostly operate on a voluntary basis.