Europe – Doctors warn of rising xenophobia in Europe’s healthcare systems

Citation

(2013), "Europe – Doctors warn of rising xenophobia in Europe’s healthcare systems", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 26 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA.06226gaa.008

Europe – Doctors warn of rising xenophobia in Europe’s healthcare systems

Article Type:

News and views

From:

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 26, Issue 7

Keywords: Xenophobia in European healthcare, Vulnerable patient groups and access to healthcare, Public healthcare access and medical ethics

Austerity measures adopted in Europe in response to the public debt crisis have a devastating impact on healthcare services, resulting in rising xenophobia in countries like Greece and Spain, according to the humanitarian group Doctors of the World.

Rising unemployment and poverty across Europe have generated extreme-right statements stigmatising migrants, Doctors of the World stated in its 2012 report, “Access to healthcare in Europe in times of crisis and rising xenophobia”.

The organisation’s 2012 report, which covers data collected in 14 cities across seven countries, notes a rise in xenophobic acts and regulations in Greece and in other European countries as a result of austerity measures.

Speaking at the launch of the report at the International Press Centre in Brussels, Dr Nikitas Kanakis from Doctors of the World Greece said xenophobia and healthcare always go together.

“It’s about dignity and to live safely without fear,” Kanakis said. “With the social crisis getting bigger and bigger every day, we see again that the poorer people are being pointed out. We see again, mostly in the South, that people who need more from the state are being accused more often. We have to talk about this.”

“These people who need a good health system are afraid to go there. The people who need the support from Europe more, they experience it less and we can’t be silent,” Kanakis added.

In Greece, the entire public health system is under enormous pressure due to austerity measures. In Spain, the government has legally restricted access to care for undocumented migrants.

At the same time, groups that were already facing vulnerability before the crisis, such as undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, drug users, sex workers, destitute European citizens and homeless people, have seen a reduction in social safety nets which provide them with basic help.

Some 81 per cent of patients who showed up at a Doctors of the World clinic in 2012 had no possibility of accessing care without paying the full cost and 49 per cent had unstable or temporary housing.

Among the patients who spoke out about violence, 27 per cent reported having suffered violent acts after their arrival in the host country; 20 per cent reported having been denied access to care by a healthcare provider in the last 12 months (especially in Spain, 62 per cent).

Dr Alvaro Gonzales from Doctors of the World in Spain said that in the current crisis situation, with high unemployment and poverty and more people living on the street, the Spanish government is pursuing cuts.

“This has led to a dismantling and a destruction of the welfare state and the public healthcare system,” Gonzales stated.

He added that Spain is moving away from universal healthcare. Now people can only access the system if they are working, are active or have the public healthcare card, Gonzales said.

“This effects a group of the population which is very vulnerable, the undocumented migrants, and it is important to highlight the fact that it is an ideological issue because it can’t be supported from a human right point-of-view. It’s completely unfair and goes against international treaties,” Gonzales said.

Doctors of the World is an international humanitarian organisation providing medical care to vulnerable populations affected by war, natural disasters, disease, famine, poverty or exclusion.

In the new report, the groups seek the right to provide healthcare, in accordance with medical ethics, to all patients, regardless of their social status or ethnic origin.

“We call for national public health systems built on solidarity, equality and equity, open to all those living in the EU, rather than systems based on a profit rationale. We ask for a coherent EU public health policy for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases,” the Doctors of the World said.

For more information: http://www.euractiv.com