Health, Fials to the Regions: Immediately operational plans to recover waiting lists for non-Covid patients, otherwise the right to health will be lost.
While Christmas dinners and ski resorts are being discussed at the Regional Government summit, the staff of the National Health Service draws attention to the disaster of assistance to non-Covid patients by denouncing a chasm that will not be reabsorbed unless action is taken without wasting any more time .
“We ask the institutions for immediate planning and reorganization with operational plans aimed at recovering the long waiting lists of non-Covid patients: the right to health enshrined in the Constitution is at risk”. This is the alarm raised by Giuseppe Carbone, general secretary of the union Fials.
“All the Regions were aware of the forecast of a second wave – he attacks – and had to prepare operational plans so that the Regional Health Services did not leave anyone behind, as already happened in the first pandemic phase. They have had months to define a plan and guarantee assistance to Covid and non-Covid patients, but they have not done so and now we find ourselves in a surge in the contagion curve while we are witnessing closures and weakening of departments and services from many quarters. ordinary: a film already seen ”.
“Doctors, nurses and health professions will never forget the impact on citizens’ health with over 40% fewer hospital admissions than in 2019 and the 38% reduction in specialist outpatient services – continues the secretary general Fials – not to mention over 1.5 million fewer cancer screenings ”. All this happens despite the fact that the Minister of Health Speranza has allocated approximately 500 million euros for the recovery of the services booked and then postponed, as required by art. 29 of the decree (converted into law 126/2020) relating to urgent provisions on waiting lists.
The amount invested has the objective – he explains Fials – to recover the services not provided and to reduce the waiting lists by focusing on specific measures for health personnel, doctors, all health professions, oss and other employees by resorting to ‘additional services’ and / or hiring staff. To access these resources, however, the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces had to submit a Regional Operational Plan to the Ministry of Health and Mef by 14 September 2020 with specifications on organizational models, implementation times and allocation of resources.
“To date, no Region has provided these data on its institutional website, nor has it provided any information to the unions. An extremely unfortunate situation that jeopardizes the work of health professionals and the efficiency of health care as a whole ”, exclaims Carbone, who at the same time sent a note to the governors asking for an account.
“It is essential to allocate resources to health not only now with the pandemic underway – he underlines – but also within the time frame provided for by the law so that the Regions invest these resources and inform citizens, health professionals and trade unions”.
“If not – concludes the secretary general Fials – the effort made by the government for these funds is nullified and, more importantly, it will be the patients who pay the highest price ”.
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