Papers by Judy Hollis-Triantafillou
BMJ, Jul 27, 1996
Regular readers of this column may remember that it is just two years since I first wrote of the ... more Regular readers of this column may remember that it is just two years since I first wrote of the lively activities at our Open Care Community Centre for Older People, or KAPI, where we provide medical, social, and recreational facilities for people over 60 at the neighbourhood level. Our centre was the prototype for more than 350 KAPIs throughout Greece. During the 18 years of its existence it received frequent visitors from home and abroad, participated in studies relating to health and illness in old age, and contributed in numerous ways to the life of the local community. The success of the KAPI network as …
BMJ, Jan 14, 1995
I have been following with great interest, through the pages of the BMJ, the British medical esta... more I have been following with great interest, through the pages of the BMJ, the British medical establishment's attempts to reach solutions regarding the problems of paying for health care. When I was a junior doctor, raised, trained, and practising in the heyday of the NHS during the 1960s and early ‘70s, finance was never considered in relation to health needs and the practice of medicine was unencumbered by such mundane issues. Then I started working in Greece and I was confronted for the first time with the need to charge for my professional services. State salaries at that time were totally inadequate, and all doctors were expected to supplement their income by private practice. This was, and continues to be for me, an endless headache. How to assess and …
BMJ, Oct 15, 1994
“Could you just wait a minute, doctor,” said the harassed young father, slightly guiltily I thoug... more “Could you just wait a minute, doctor,” said the harassed young father, slightly guiltily I thought, as he opened the door and showed me into the sitting room. The baby that I had been called to see was wailing loudly in the next room, and after a brief delay I was ushered in to see her. Besides mother and baby there were two elderly yia-yias [grandmothers] in black, one of whom was vigorously rocking the baby, who suddenly stopped crying and gave me a tentative smile. “What a beautiful baby!” I exclaimed. There was an …
BMJ, Aug 13, 1994
The atmosphere when I arrived at our KAPI* centre that morning was uncharacteristically subdued. ... more The atmosphere when I arrived at our KAPI* centre that morning was uncharacteristically subdued. The members were sitting around talking quietly and the social worker was in tears. The cause: Kyria Poppy, star performer of the theatre group and leader of the choir, had died suddenly the previous day and her funeral was to take place that afternoon. The choir, a fairly recent innovation, had flourished and been invited to give a performance at a neighbouring KAPI, followed by refreshments and, of course, dancing at the local taverna. Kyria Poppy, flushed with success, food, and a little unaccustomed wine, had risen to take the floor in the Kalamatiano and had been …
BMJ, Dec 10, 1994
We always make decisions at the very last minute, and from observations among friends it seems th... more We always make decisions at the very last minute, and from observations among friends it seems that many other doctors do the same. Maybe it's an attempt to thwart fate—we all know that there's no surer guarantee of a record attendance at evening surgery than a fixed-time social appointment for that same evening. This time there was no such excuse. It was a scorching August weekend, none of the doctors among us were on call, and after a hard working week there was nothing I wanted to do more than collapse by the sea. However, we had cultural obligations in the form of a longstanding promise to our goddaughters to take them to the theatre, and Saturday's much advertised production of Euripides's Hecabe, with a famous tragic actress in the leading role, seemed an ideal opportunity to fulfil this. There was another, more personal reason: my husband had attended the same actress briefly on one occasion when she had been slightly indisposed, had taken her blood pressure, held her hand, chatted for a few minutes, and fallen forever captive to her charm. Optimistically, he was sure we could combine both objectives despite the fact that over 250 kilometres separated the cottage by the sea from the site of the ancient theatre at Epidauros. He had heard of a new route which avoided well …
BMJ, Mar 9, 1996
“She's had a really high temperature for five days now doctor,” said my patient's husband... more “She's had a really high temperature for five days now doctor,” said my patient's husband anxiously over the phone, “and the cough's getting worse even though she's taking this thing called Amoxil that the pharmacist gave her—” “It's not a thing called Amoxil,” I interrupted nastily, “it's an antibiotic and probably inappropriate in your wife's case but I'll be round to see her as soon as possible.” We are in the throes of a flu epidemic, and although I have had many similar calls over the past few weeks I get just as furious every time. Antibiotics, along with most other drugs, are available without prescription, on demand …
BMJ, Sep 17, 1994
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BMJ, Nov 2, 1996
Amid all the recent medical and public debates on the complicated ethical issues involved in the ... more Amid all the recent medical and public debates on the complicated ethical issues involved in the management of relatively rare variations of pregnancy, it might be a good idea to reexamine the basic issue of termination of pregnancy from the point of view of the 52% of the population whose voice has tended to be drowned in the furore, that of women. Women do not talk much about their abortions except to their gynaecologists and close friends, but the problem of unwanted pregnancy is one that most of them face at some time during the 40 or so years of their reproductive lives. Even with modern methods of …
Long-Term Care in Europe, 2013
This chapter has the goal of re-examining and expanding the results of previous analyses conducte... more This chapter has the goal of re-examining and expanding the results of previous analyses conducted within the INTERLINKS project from the perspectives of two groups of users of long-term care services: first, older people who are frequently faced with difficult decisions about how to reorganise their daily lives and obtain care because of declining health and functional abilities; second, their family, friends and neighbours who form a more or less extended ‘social network’ of co-care providers, and who informally provide most of the required support, help and care.
BMJ, 1996
The programme went off much better than I'd expected. It was basically a chat show with publi... more The programme went off much better than I'd expected. It was basically a chat show with public participation to which I'd been invited, along with two or three other “experts,” to discuss care provision for older people. This was in the wake of recent horrifying disclosures of conditions in some residential homes and I'd agreed to participate, although not without misgivings, having seen how the subject had been exploited by the media. For this reason, I'd carefully gathered together as many relevant facts as possible and prepared to face the cameras. The …
BMJ, 1995
Soundings Hard times Our KAPI centre is in trouble and, as so often seems to be the case these da... more Soundings Hard times Our KAPI centre is in trouble and, as so often seems to be the case these days, the root problem is a financial one. We are a community based, open care centre for older people, supplying health, social, and recreational services to our members, and, although one of over 250 such centres throughout the country, we do have some special characteristics that make our situation somewhat different from the others.
BMJ, 1995
My friend Jilly is a blood donor and, as in all areas of her life, she undertakes her duties with... more My friend Jilly is a blood donor and, as in all areas of her life, she undertakes her duties with boundless enthusiasm. Greece is a country with a high demand for blood, mainly owing to the numbers of children with thalassaemia major who, throughout their tragically short lives, regularly attend the local hospitals for monthly transfusions; fortunately, these numbers are decreasing thanks to routine prenatal testing and the offer of early abortion. Many systems have been devised to cover these additional needs, including the inducement of days off to army recruits and civil servants who become donors, but it is still common practice, for those undergoing operations where transfusion is likely to be …
BMJ, 1995
Soundings Civil services "By the way," said my husband, as he was half way out of the door, "they... more Soundings Civil services "By the way," said my husband, as he was half way out of the door, "they've changed the system of payment for the "dimosio" patients. The procedure's the same but you have to go to ..." He produced a scrap of paper with a scribbled address and thrust it into my hand before making a quick escape. My heart sank as I looked at the address-right across town with impossible parking-and, wisely as it turned out, set aside a whole morning for the job.
BMJ, 1994
We always make decisions at the very last minute, and from observations among friends it seems th... more We always make decisions at the very last minute, and from observations among friends it seems that many other doctors do the same. Maybe it's an attempt to thwart fate—we all know that there's no surer guarantee of a record attendance at evening surgery than a fixed-time social appointment for that same evening. This time there was no such excuse. It was a scorching August weekend, none of the doctors among us were on call, and after a hard working week there was nothing I wanted to do more than collapse by the sea. However, we had cultural obligations in the form of a longstanding promise to our goddaughters to take them to the theatre, and Saturday's much advertised production of Euripides's Hecabe, with a famous tragic actress in the leading role, seemed an ideal opportunity to fulfil this. There was another, more personal reason: my husband had attended the same actress briefly on one occasion when she had been slightly indisposed, had taken her blood pressure, held her hand, chatted for a few minutes, and fallen forever captive to her charm. Optimistically, he was sure we could combine both objectives despite the fact that over 250 kilometres separated the cottage by the sea from the site of the ancient theatre at Epidauros. He had heard of a new route which avoided well …
BMJ, 1995
Soundings Role sharing Patterns of child care vary enormously between countries and are also subj... more Soundings Role sharing Patterns of child care vary enormously between countries and are also subject to change over time. Many practices, such as the change in recommended sleeping positions for babies, are based on sound scientific evidence of benefit, but others-such as the age of weaning-seem to be more prone to the vagaries of current fashion. During the past few years, however, an important social change has taken place in
BMJ, 1995
She is an intelligent 18 year old who has reluctantly agreed to see me with her mother, who is co... more She is an intelligent 18 year old who has reluctantly agreed to see me with her mother, who is consumed with anxiety over her daughter's abnormal eating habits. Alexia denies there's a problem and we arrange a new appointment alone. She is on the 85th and 25th centiles for height and weight respectively, menarche at 13, periods always slightly irregular. Boyfriends? She's a bit choosy, avoiding emotional involvement for the time being because she's working for exams. Diet? Vegetarian by choice but with a reasonable understanding of the elements of a healthy diet. Her psychological state seems normal. I warn her of the possible consequences of extreme dieting and reassure her mother. Six months later, studying archeology and living away from home, she's lost four …
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Papers by Judy Hollis-Triantafillou