Volume 3, Issue 1
January 2010
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People want answers.....
It is always unfortunate when medical services anywhere have to be used but having had some experience of the system here in Greece and particularly locally to Roda, I have had an opportunity to compare the system which I have known for nearly forty years in the UK with what the Greek people are living with today.
I had cause, recently, to visit the nearby x-ray clinic, Aktinodiagnostiko Clinic, on the main road between Roda and Axaravi. The clinic, which was opened in 2007, offers a variety of diagnostic procedures under x-ray along with ultrasound. It is privately owned and run by Dr Chrisoula Pavlidi, open every week day and generally runs on a walk-in, non appointment system.
Talking to Dr Pavlidi after under going some x-rays, I explained that such a service as she is offering to the local people simply does not exist in the UK. Of course, there are private clinics and hospitals throughout the UK which have diagnostic facilities such as are offered at Aktinodiagnostiko but rarely, if ever do they compete with the level of efficiency and cost that I have come to expect here in Corfu, Greece.
The clinic on the edge of Roda operates pretty much as a walk-in service, with appointments only needed for slightly more specialised tests. For the most, people turn up and are either seen by Dr Pavlidi immediately or wait a short time. The whole procedure is operated totally by Dr Pavlidi, and after the short time it takes to have the films or complete a test, one is then seated in her office discussing the results. She will also contact a referring doctor directly, by telephone, if appropriate. When it comes to leaving, films (if appropriate) and a typed report accompanies one’s departure.
I had cause, recently, to visit the nearby x-ray clinic, Aktinodiagnostiko Clinic, on the main road between Roda and Axaravi. The clinic, which was opened in 2007, offers a variety of diagnostic procedures under x-ray along with ultrasound. It is privately owned and run by Dr Chrisoula Pavlidi, open every week day and generally runs on a walk-in, non appointment system.
Talking to Dr Pavlidi after under going some x-rays, I explained that such a service as she is offering to the local people simply does not exist in the UK. Of course, there are private clinics and hospitals throughout the UK which have diagnostic facilities such as are offered at Aktinodiagnostiko but rarely, if ever do they compete with the level of efficiency and cost that I have come to expect here in Corfu, Greece.
The clinic on the edge of Roda operates pretty much as a walk-in service, with appointments only needed for slightly more specialised tests. For the most, people turn up and are either seen by Dr Pavlidi immediately or wait a short time. The whole procedure is operated totally by Dr Pavlidi, and after the short time it takes to have the films or complete a test, one is then seated in her office discussing the results. She will also contact a referring doctor directly, by telephone, if appropriate. When it comes to leaving, films (if appropriate) and a typed report accompanies one’s departure.
“People need answers”. Which is absolutely true. The very optimum time to get better is on the day when the problem starts or very soon afterwards and the system here in Corfu and Greece allows for just that to happen.
Another recent experience was at a larger, Corfu Town diagnostic centre, Euro Diagnosis, where I had 2 CT scans carried out 16 hrs after making an appointment. Twenty-four hours later the scans and reports were ready for collection.
With diagnostic facilities such as I have now experienced on the island, there is no need to stay in the mind-set that I often found myself in when using the NHS service – that of “I’ll wait to see how I am in a week or so before making an appointment to see the GP.” Why wait, I need to know now if there is a problem that needs treating. One statistic counts around 25 millions work days are lost to ill health in the UK amounting to a cost of £11 billion to businesses. How much of this could be prevented with prompt diagnostic services leading to faster treatment being received by the patient?
Yes, to use the facilities talked about in this article, there is a cost – thirty to forty Euros is the general cost for simple x-rays, including consultation. There is still the option of using the State health system, IKA, which does allow for private clinics and practitioners to be used and allowing the patient to claim up to 80% of the costs. Personally, I would prefer to know now and then begin the process of improving, rather than prolong the agony, literally, and risk missing the opportunity to make a full recovery.
People want answers – and here there is a small price to pay to find out those answers and getting on with life, as it should be.
Another recent experience was at a larger, Corfu Town diagnostic centre, Euro Diagnosis, where I had 2 CT scans carried out 16 hrs after making an appointment. Twenty-four hours later the scans and reports were ready for collection.
With diagnostic facilities such as I have now experienced on the island, there is no need to stay in the mind-set that I often found myself in when using the NHS service – that of “I’ll wait to see how I am in a week or so before making an appointment to see the GP.” Why wait, I need to know now if there is a problem that needs treating. One statistic counts around 25 millions work days are lost to ill health in the UK amounting to a cost of £11 billion to businesses. How much of this could be prevented with prompt diagnostic services leading to faster treatment being received by the patient?
Yes, to use the facilities talked about in this article, there is a cost – thirty to forty Euros is the general cost for simple x-rays, including consultation. There is still the option of using the State health system, IKA, which does allow for private clinics and practitioners to be used and allowing the patient to claim up to 80% of the costs. Personally, I would prefer to know now and then begin the process of improving, rather than prolong the agony, literally, and risk missing the opportunity to make a full recovery.
People want answers – and here there is a small price to pay to find out those answers and getting on with life, as it should be.
Dr Pavlidi finds it hard to believe that people in the UK do not have the same service, that people are not at liberty to take themselves have an x-ray if a problem is encountered, or that the only options available through a doctor’s recommendation are either a long wait at the local hospital, or an expensive trip to a private facility, with either an
insurance company picking up the tab or the patient them selves paying the bill. Finding out the results can also be a bit of a lottery. Normally, they would be sent on to the referring doctor some time after the diagnostic test. This time varies whether the procedure was carried out at a private establishment or at an NHS hospital. In general, however, an appointment is made with the original doctor some time later, may be a week to three months in some cases, during which time the patient is both continuing to suffer and may also be worrying about what might have been revealed.
An astonished look and an audible gasp comes from Dr Pavlidi when this is explained. But, she said,
An astonished look and an audible gasp comes from Dr Pavlidi when this is explained. But, she said,
