At an event organized by the municipal group “Thessaloniki Together – The Value of Local Government Participation in the Public Health System”, held on July 4, 2022, Thanasis Komnis, Dentist, Member of the Board of Directors of the Thessaloniki Dental Association, and one of the founding members of the Thessaloniki Social Clinic, participated as a speaker.
In his presentation, he highlighted the significant contribution that Local Government could make to the everyday health of citizens, described the absence of public dental care, and spoke about the importance of oral hygiene as well as its connection to serious systemic diseases. He proposed the provision of municipal dental care through the establishment of municipal dental clinics, as well as the creation of neighborhood health teams, an initiative included in the program of the municipal group Thessaloniki Together.
Other speakers at the event included the former Minister of Health and Health Policy Spokesperson of the SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance Parliamentary Group, Andreas Xanthos; Professor of Hematology at the Sorbonne Medical School, Grigoris Gerotziafas; Professor of Internal Medicine at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Director of the 4th Internal Medicine Clinic at Hippocratio General Hospital of Thessaloniki and former President of the Medical School of AUTH, Alexandros Garyfallos; Director of the 2nd Intensive Care Unit at Papageorgiou General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Nikos Kapravelos; Physician, General Family Practitioner and Emergency Medicine Specialist, Director of the Emergency Department at Kilkis General Hospital and member of the Coordinating Committee of the municipal group Thessaloniki Together, Petros Pappas; Physician, Cardiologist, Member of the Board of Directors of the Thessaloniki Medical Association, Georgios Skentos; and National Health System (NHS) Physician, Internist, and former Governor of the 4th Regional Health Authority of Macedonia, Stratis Plomaritis.
The speakers described the situation prevailing in the National Health System (NHS) in recent years, particularly during the past two and a half years of the pandemic, emphasized the need to support the public healthcare system, and underlined the important role that Local Government can play in this effort.
