Athens Day Care Centre In September 2016, in order to respond to the medical and mental health needs of vulnerable people in Athens, MSF opened a day care centre (DCC) specialising in sexual and reproductive healthcare and mental healthcare activities, care for victims of sexual violence and treatment for transmittable sexual diseases. In July 2017, the centre began providing patients with a comprehensive social support package and treatment for non-communicable diseases to cover the needs of patients staying in Athens on a longer-term basis. There is also support for referrals to the national healthcare system, with specialised cultural mediators accompanying patients to follow-up appointments at hospitals. An outreach team runs health promotion and education sessions in shelters around the city. Key challenges • Limited space and personnel faced with increased activity and volume of patients, leading to long waiting times for mental health patients • Public hospitals overwhelmed leading to difficulties for our patients to access secondary healthcare • Complex patient needs requiring a multidisciplinary social support package • Multiple language needs requiring a full team of cultural mediators Sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) In 2018, the number of sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) consultations increased as a result of increased arrivals of migrants and refugees on the mainland. Gynaecological consultations focused on the treatment of genital infections, menstrual disorders, constipation, haemorrhoids, sexual-transmitted diseases and urinary tract infections. In early 2017, MSF invested in the DCC to reinforce and consolidate its focus on sexual violence through increased promotion of the relevant services, establishment of a standardised path for patients who have suffered sexual violence through the DCC services, and implementation of a sexual violence screening at all first SRH consultations. Two remaining challenges for the DCC are the low 4 proportion of male victims kept away by the social stigma and the difficulty in ensuring that victims of sexual violence seek care less than 72 hours after they are attacked. Mental healthcare Within our mental health services, demand for psychological care among our target population remained constant during 2018, and while the demand for psychiatric care increased. This coincides with the reduction of activities of other NGOs providing
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