The harsh spending cuts introduced by Europeangovernments to tackle their crippling debt problems have not only pitched theregion into recession — they are also being partly blamed for outbreaks ofdiseases not normally seen in Europe and a spike in suicides, according to newresearch.
Since the crisis first struck in 2008, state-run welfare andhealth services across Europe have seen their budgets cut, medical treatmentsrationed and unpopular measures such as hospital user fees introduced.
Those countries that have slashed public spending thehardest — namely Greece, Spain and Portugal — have fared the worst medically.
"Austerity measures haven't solved the economicproblems and they have also created big health problems," said MartinMcKee, a professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygieneand Tropical Medicine, who led the research.
He said worsening health was driven not just byunemployment, but by the lack of a social welfare system to fall back on."People need to have hope that the government will help them through thisdifficult time," he said.
The paper was published online Wednesday in a special seriesof the journal Lancet.
McKee said Greece in particular was struggling. Based ongovernment data, he and colleagues found suicides rose by 40 percent in 2011compared to the previous year. Last year, the country also reported an exponentialrise in the number of HIV cases among drug users, due in part to addictssharing contaminated syringes after needle exchange programs were dropped.
In recent years, Greece has also battled outbreaks ofmalaria, West Nile virus and dengue fever.
"These are not diseases we would normally expect to seein Europe," said Willem de Jonge, general director of Medecins SansFrontieres in Greece.
In 2011, MSF helped Greece tackle a malaria outbreak thatbroke out after authorities scrapped spraying programs to kill mosquitoes.
"There's a strong willingness in the government torespond (to health problems) but the problem is a lack of resources," deJonge said.
Outside Madrid's Hospital Clinico San Carlos, severalpatients grumbled about deteriorating medical care.
"The cutbacks are noticeable in many ways," saidMari Carmen Cervera, 54, an unemployed nurse. Cervera's mother was initiallyadmitted to the hospital with a serious heart problem that required surgery.Cervera says her mother was discharged too early and had to be brought backwhen she had trouble breathing one night.
"While she was (hospitalized), she wasn't beingproperly washed by the nursing staff, so I had to do it myself," she said."I personally think what has happened to my mother is a consequence ofnegligence and I am going to make an official complaint as soon as (she) iswell enough to come home again."
Hans Kluge of the World Health Organization's Europeanoffice, advised countries against radical health reforms during an economiccrisis. "In every health system, there is fat to cut," he said,recommending countries start with straightforward measures such as buying moregeneric drugs or eliminating unnecessary hospital beds.
Still, McKee and colleagues found not all countries mired indebt are unhealthy. Despite massive losses in its banking sector, Icelandrejected a bailout deal prescribed by the International Monetary Fund. McKeeand colleagues didn't find any bump in suicides and the population may even behealthier since it nearly went bankrupt — which could have been a result ofglobal junk food chains pulling out of the country due to rising food costs.
Elsewhere, the researchers noted a drop in road accidents asmore drivers opted for public transport. In turn, that has led to a shortage oforgan donations and transplants, particularly in Spain and Ireland.