Filenews 16 December 2022 - by Marilena Panayi
Without the necessary nursing care for their case, bedridden patients are left bedridden, since the procedures imposed by the Health Insurance Organization on the number of visits they are entitled to in their homes by a nurse either delay their recovery in the case of temporarily bedridden people or put them at risk when it comes to permanently bedridden people.
The problem, explained the president of the Alliance of Rare Diseases Charalambos Papadopoulos, speaking to "F", "concerns all patients who need nursing care at home but of course it is much greater in the cases of seriously chronic patients who are permanently bedridden".
Based on the procedures currently in place, Mr. Papadopoulos said, "patients are entitled to a certain number of visits to their home by a nurse. When this number is reached, as is the case with other services offered through the General Health System, the patient submits a request to the HIO for an additional number of visits". As a result, "until the approval of the request by the Organization, the patient is either left without nursing care, or pays out of pocket for services that he is normally entitled to receive through the GHS and we are certainly not talking about small amounts since each visit costs around €20 - €30 and if a patient needs a large number of visits, As is the case with permanently bedridden patients, then we understand how far this amount can go up."
With regard to "patients who need care for a certain period of time, for example after an accident or a serious surgery that needs to be bedridden, the problem occurs from the moment it is deemed necessary to request additional visits. This patient is temporarily in this situation, so he needs the service at this particular time. The delay in approving his request leaves him essentially hanging and he is certainly forced to pay out of his own pocket."
For permanently bedridden patients, "the problem is clearly greater. A chronic patient who is permanently bedridden, there is no way he will stop needing nursing services at home. Therefore, even the existence of a "ceiling" in the number of visits to which he is entitled by the GHS can be said to make no sense because in these cases the patient cannot be left without proper nursing care. It will be at risk and certainly patients in this group do not need two, three, five or ten visits, it is a constant need of theirs."
"Lately, we have noticed that in the time that elapses until the approval of patients' requests for additional treatments, which is not at all small, both on the part of the SHSO and by the private nursing care companies, decisions have been made not to serve the patients since they too, with their rules, cannot offer services for which they are not sure that the Health Insurance Organization will authorise. As a result, our patients, if they can afford to pay out of pocket, if they don't have it, are left without the care they really need and are at risk."
Exclude certain categories
The number of patients who are permanently bedridden, said the president of the Rare Diseases Alliance, "cannot be said to be large. Perhaps a few hundred and certainly this number is not at all a deterrent for the HIO to decide to exempt them from the 'ceilings' and restrictions that apply to the rest of the patients." Perhaps, said Mr. Papadopoulos, "the HIO should review some of what is currently being applied because really in some cases, such as this one, there is no logic and there is certainly no chance of someone abusing the System. No one wants to be permanently bedridden and need nursing care".
No news about oxygens
"Unfortunately, and despite the efforts made, the problem of transporting oxygen cylinders to and from the homes of chronic patients has not yet been solved", said Mr. Papadopoulos, recalling that "the family members of the patients are still obliged to transport in their cars, with all the risks that exist, empty or full oxygen cylinders because the HIO has not yet found a way to transport these cylinders from the a supply company in the area where the patient is located". This issue, said the president of the Rare Diseases Alliance, "we have highlighted it many times in the last year but to date we have not had any positive development although we know that some moves have been made."
