If anyone can find the thread for such reports, they can move this post to that thread. I can't find it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/04/greece-austerity-disease-idUSL5E8N4FW220121204
UPDATE 1-Basic hygiene at risk in debt-stricken Greek hospitals
Tue Dec 4, 2012 5:09pm EST
* Supplies of gloves and gowns threatened by budget cuts
* EU officials fear rising rates of superbug infections
* Greek govt says healthcare system is 2 bln euros in debt (Edits)
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Greek hospitals are in such dire straits that staff are failing to keep up basic disease controls such as using gloves and gowns, threatening a rise in multi-drug-resistant infections, according to Europe's top health official.
Greece already has one of the worst problems in Europe with hospital-acquired infections, and disease experts fear this is being made worse by an economic crisis that has cut health care staffing levels and hurt standards of care.
With fewer doctors and nurses to look after more patients, and hospitals running low on cash for supplies, risks are being taken even with basic hygiene, said Marc Sprenger, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
"I have seen places...where the financial situation did not allow even for basic requirements like gloves, gowns and alcohol wipes," Sprenger said after a two-day trip to Athens, where he visited hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
"We already knew Greece is in a very bad situation regarding antibiotic resistant infections, and after visiting hospitals there I'm now really convinced we have reached one minute to midnight in this battle," he told Reuters in an interview.
[snip]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/04/greece-austerity-disease-idUSL5E8N4FW220121204
UPDATE 1-Basic hygiene at risk in debt-stricken Greek hospitals
Tue Dec 4, 2012 5:09pm EST
* Supplies of gloves and gowns threatened by budget cuts
* EU officials fear rising rates of superbug infections
* Greek govt says healthcare system is 2 bln euros in debt (Edits)
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Greek hospitals are in such dire straits that staff are failing to keep up basic disease controls such as using gloves and gowns, threatening a rise in multi-drug-resistant infections, according to Europe's top health official.
Greece already has one of the worst problems in Europe with hospital-acquired infections, and disease experts fear this is being made worse by an economic crisis that has cut health care staffing levels and hurt standards of care.
With fewer doctors and nurses to look after more patients, and hospitals running low on cash for supplies, risks are being taken even with basic hygiene, said Marc Sprenger, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
"I have seen places...where the financial situation did not allow even for basic requirements like gloves, gowns and alcohol wipes," Sprenger said after a two-day trip to Athens, where he visited hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
"We already knew Greece is in a very bad situation regarding antibiotic resistant infections, and after visiting hospitals there I'm now really convinced we have reached one minute to midnight in this battle," he told Reuters in an interview.
[snip]