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HEALTH

Health services cut by 1.9 percent in three years

The number of public health facilities in Italy dropped by 1.9 percent between 2008 and 2011, according to a Ministry of Health report released this week.

Published: 6 June 2014 12:37 CEST
Health services cut by 1.9 percent in three years
The figures show an overall drop in health services during the first three years of the economic crisis. Hospital photo: Shutterstock

While the figures show an overall drop in health services during the first three years of the economic crisis, the Ministry of Health said some areas had seen improvement.

Rehabilitation services jumped by 6.6 percent in the public health system and were up by 0.2 percent in private clinics, between 2008 and 2011, the ministry said.

During the same period services for residents – specifically those who are not independent and do not have assistance at home – were increased by 1.8 percent by the health authorities and shot up by 7.8 percent in the private sector.

Outpatients services also saw a slight increase in the public healthcare system, of 0.1 percent in the public sector, but were down by 1.5 percent in private healthcare.

The Ministry of Health report also charted the availability of hospital beds, with four per thousand residents nationally in 2011.

Southern Molise came top with 4.7, while the central region of Umbria had just 3.5 and Campania, in southern Italy, coming last with 3.4 beds for every thousand potential patients. 

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:06 CEST
Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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