Dear friends,
Thank you for trying to assist Ukrainians on different issues. As to your advice on “Health” you are correct answering the question:
“Do I have access to medical care before receiving the temporary protection status?
Yes. In Greece, access to public health services is available to all and free of charge.
As per the ministry:
‘With the presentation of your passport or the relevant service note from the Greek Police that you received upon your arrival in Greece, you have access to medical and nursing care in all public hospitals, nursing homes, municipal clinics, primary health care facilities, and Rehabilitation and Social Care Units for prescribing medicine, therapeutic operations and diagnostic examinations (circular of the Ministry of Health, Α.Π. Γ2δ / Γ.Π.οικ.17033, ΑΔΑ: 6ΥΟ0465ΦΥΟ-7ΕΕ). For your convenience and the best quality service provided by the medical staff, please make sure, if you have the opportunity, to be accompanied by someone who speaks Greek or English”.
What should be updated is about new regulations when the system of family doctors is being installed now in Greece. Our personal experience says that without registration with a family doctor our AMKA doesn’t work. You may doctors, clinics but you need to pay. As well as you are to pay full price for drags at the pharmacies even if you have prescription from f non-family doctor, it concerns any laboratory analysis.
I was advised when visiting a doctor, who previously (until July) accepted AMKA, to get a family doctor.
What me and my spouse did following this advice – the next day we moved to a closest pharmacy. Luckily the staff was very helpful in dozens of minutes we got appointment with a doctor who will be our family’s one. What is needed for that:
- Your Ukrainian passport
- Your “Temporary Protection” document, issued by Greek Government, containing both your AFM and AMKA numbers.
- You email address (during the registration procedure at the pharmacy you will be getting some confirmation codes)
- You cell phone with you (during the registration procedure at the pharmacy you will be getting some confirmation codes to your phone messenger)
- You should give pharmacist your address in Greece (if you are staying at a hosting Greek family, or renting a room etc)
That’s all. The pharmacist will give you the name of your family doctor, the address of his/her office and he day of appointment.
You may face some problems (luckily we did not). Primarily, you can’t be registered if your AFM or AMKA are still not in the national system. Ask ANCE what to do. With the help of ANCE we have went successfully through that several months ago. Secondary, it could happen that there is not enough family doctors in your aria. Ask pharmacist for advice. In our case we met full support
Yuriy