Empathy, stress and compassion: resonance between the caring and the cared

This chapter describes the changes in health and healthcare in Greece based on our analysis of European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data, which provide comparable cross-sectional and longitudinal information on social and economic characteristics and living conditions throughout the European Union. It focuses on the reports collected from medical research institutes, health prefectures and non-governmental organizations. Major private health providers, although comprising a smaller fraction of care delivery than public providers, were also hit by pressure on personal budgets and registered losses after the onset of the crisis. The then Minister of Health promptly responded in a World Health Organization conference: all vulnerable groups have access to health care, even if they have no health insurance at all, even if they are jobless, homeless, refugees or illegal immigrants. It is not the case that the financial crisis deprives the Greeks of access to health care services.