This is a long article, carefully written to avoid scaring the heck out of readers, but you can imagine the challenge of dealing with hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers flooding the German health care system. Screening for communicable diseases is at the top of the list for new arrivals, but many don’t get screening for weeks or even longer.
I’ll let you read it yourself. However, here is one particularly concerning subject, and one we have here in the US as well—-refugees have mental health problems. And, these are the people Germany is counting on to be the worker-bees of the future who will take care of the aging German population?
From Health Affairs Blog:
In the immediate future, efforts to reduce bureaucratic hurdles need to continue; however, it is just as important is to address the linguistic, cultural, and societal barriers to access. This is a particular concern for ensuring proper mental health care.Studies show that more than half of the asylum-seekers and refugees arriving in Germany have mental health problems, especially minors. And institutional accommodation and restricted economic opportunities have been associated with worse mental health of refugees. While mental health services are available, and there are specialised services for traumatised refugees, uptake is low due to low awareness and cultural barriers. Other issues that need urgent attention are providing adequate shelter to avoid crowding and ensuring good hygienic condition. ....
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