Brussels, 01/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Tackling healthcare inequalities is and must remain a European Union priority, declared participants at the second conference on “Inequalities in Health Care in the 'New Member States' and Candidate Countries” held on 22 June at the European Parliament in Brussels, under the chairmanship of Bulgarian EPP MEP, Andrey Kovatchev. The conference was organised by the National Bulgarian Patients' Organisation (NPO) and was supported by the European Patients' Forum (EPF).
The economic crisis and the austerity measures resulting from it have sharpened disparities in the areas of health care and social security in the European Union, as confirmed by a recent survey carried out by patients' rights groups in twelve “new” member states and the three candidate countries. Inequalities begin with the phase of detecting diseases because certain patients do not have the opportunity, resources or education to find out what they need to do or contact a doctor. Several healthcare professionals pointed out that, when medicines are available, they are not always accessible. Dessislava Dimitrova from the World Health Organisation proposed the setting up of a European partnership for equal access to quality health care as a means of laying the first foundations for an equal system. The EPF promised to take this idea further and to develop it with the respective representatives from the European Union and healthcare organisations. Several MEPs who were aware of these issues also indicated that they were going to set up an interest group and work towards reducing healthcare inequalities and facilitating good quality health care access. They also underlined that this was not just a problem that was exclusive to the “new” member states or candidate countries but also affected all the European Union member states. Antonia Parvanova MEP (ALDE, Bulgaria) called for health to be included in the European Union Treaty.
The first conference on health care inequalities was held in Sofia on 21 and 22 September 2012. A resolution was adopted at the end of the meeting in which participants made a commitment to continuing the debate even further by encouraging dialogue and cooperation at all levels of government and with all the different stakeholders. (IL/transl.fl)