University Primary Health Care Unit At the Municipality Of Heraklion, Greece

The unit emerged as the result of joint actions of the CSFM and the Laboratory of Health Planning with the collaboration of the Municipality of Heraklion and the University General Hospital of Heraklion, Greece.

This decentralized structure offers primary health care (PHC) services in the inner city of the Municipality of Heraklion. The unit targets the promotion of community services and the prevention and management of chronic diseases and related risk factors. According to the signed protocol, the unit aspires to contribute to the following goals:

• To systematically promote PHC services not only for residents of the Municipality of Heraklion with low income or with no insurance, but also for vulnerable community groups with particular health problems.
• To improve the quality of service recipients’ life and to reduce as much as possible health service inequalities that affect well-being.
• To assess urban residents’ health care needs, covering the demand for care from the unit’s personnel.
• To support research and education in the field of general practice, by providing real time training within family medicine for young health professionals and students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete.
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Currently, The University Primary Care Unit is running its pivotal phase with an array of services provided by the following personnel:

• Medical and student training services

• Professor Christos Lionis (General Practice and Primary Health Care)
• Dr. Antonis Koutis (Social Medicine)
• 4 residents in General Practice (on a rotating schedule)
• Professor Tassos Philalithis (Social Medicine)

• Nursing and student training services

• Ms Maria Titaki (Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Ms Aikaterini Almpantaki (Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Dr Ada Markaki (Clinical Specialist Nurse in Community Health)

• Health visiting and student training services

• Ms. Maria Vitsaksaki (Health Visitor)

The first outcomes are particularly encouraging in terms of functional cost, autonomy and administrative capability. From May 2009 till September 2010, over 2000 visits were recorded in the electronic registry system. A recent report on health care users’ satisfaction suggested positive views and opinions, propagating a promising message to the inner community.

This effort invests in the core of the social structure, namely the family. The socio-cultural and nosologic profile of the targeted population group contributes to the development of applied models of healthcare use and family oriented prevention. Future supporting actions in urban areas of Greece, constitute the most important challenge of this effort