We were in Agios Stefanos in September when the voting on Scotish Independence was happening. We were sitting in a Taverna one day discussing
this and the various financial advantages of living in Scotland namely free University education,free prescriptions and free care for the elderly.
Curiosity prompted me to ask a Greek friend who was sitting with us and who like us is not in the first flush of youth "what happens here if you have to go into a care home does the Government pay or do you have to pay"? He looked completely puzzled so I rephrased my question "what happens when you get old and too ill for your family to look after you"? His answer to this was simply "we die"!!
There don't appear to be any care homes for the elderly in Corfu and I believe there are only a couple in Athens,families look after their aged relatives and if they need nursing help they pay for private nurses.
Why is it that people in so many other countries count it as a privelege to care for the parents who cared for them when they were young yet in Britain some see older people as a burden,a drain on the NHS and just too much trouble to look after. Makes you think!