HEALTH/IMMIGRATION : DOCTORS WARN AGAINST 'DESTRUCTION' OF PUBLIC HEALTH.

Austerity measures in Europe are "destroying" health care systems and increasing xenophobia, according to a shocking new report by Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World), published on 9 April. The report emphasises the effects of recent measures, such as the elimination of free health care for undocumented migrants and retired people in Spain, as well as worrying announcements in the United Kingdom, and xenophobic attacks on migrants in Greece.

"Before the crisis, we did not hand out food - but we cannot give insulin to a diabetic who has not eaten enough," explained Nathalie Simonot, a director from Doctors of the World's (DoW) international network. She and several other doctors called for free access to health care for people living below the poverty line in European countries, as well as universal access to vaccines and health care for all minors.

MORE EUROPEANS IN NEED

DoW's health centres are often the last resort for the most vulnerable people in Europe (undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, drug users, sex workers, destitute European citizens and homeless people). As a response to cuts in European social budgets, DoW interviewed 8,412 patients who attended these health centres in 2012, in 14 cities in seven European countries, among them Brussels, Nice, Munich, Amsterdam, Athens, London and Alicante. During the previous 12 months, 20% had been deprived of access to public health care, with 62% of these patients being in Spain. More than 80% of patients had no way to access care without paying the full cost, 59% of pregnant women had received no antenatal care, 10% of children were not vaccinated, and 28% of patients said they were in a poor, or very poor state of mental health (this figure was as high as 50.8% in Greece). In total, 76% of patients had been diagnosed as requiring treatment, but more than half had not received any care before attending a DoW centre.

The NGO expects to have more information before it can draw heavy conclusions but says there has been "an increase in poor European patients attending DoW's consultations". Greece's health care system is under great pressure from factors, such as hospital admission fees, and a lack of medical equipment...