Eight in 10 fear state hospitals, poll shows
Eight out of 10 Greeks do not trust the National Health System (ESY), fearing that medical treatment at a state hospital might do them more harm than good, according to the results of a Eurobarometer survey made public in Brussels yesterday. A total of 83 percent of Greek respondents questioned for the poll said they worried that treatment at a state hospital could provoke health problems rather than curing them of their ailments, significantly above the European Union average of 50 percent. Asked to rate the quality of Greece’s state health system, only 25 percent of Greek respondents gave a positive assessment, the same rate as Romania and the lowest in the EU, where the average rate is 70 percent. The most positive assessments were given by Belgians (97 percent), Austrians (95 percent) and Finns (94 percent).