«We all have a common goal and this is certainly not the time for controversy, especially if they are not also useful in identifying and implementing solutions. It is true that on some logistical issues, and I’m not just talking about the health sector, perhaps there was time to do more ». Dr. Andrea Sciolla, vascular surgeon, is also the provincial secretary of «Sumai», the single Union of Italian Outpatient Medicine and Healthcare Professionals, which represents over 70 per cent of specialist doctors in Italy. In summary we could say that his profession takes place both on the territory, in the clinics, and in the hospital. A very particular observation point, therefore, for an analysis updated to date on the Covid emergency.
What does he mean when he says that the months between the first wave and this second could have been better exploited, which at the moment does not bode well. «Din time it was understood that the identification and tracing of infections and their correct treatment are fundamental. We have asymptomatic or “paucisymptomatic” Covid patients who can remain at home, others who could benefit from isolation in protected but not necessarily hospital facilities, reserved for more complex cases. The timely identification of these subjects and the availability of assisted hospitalization spaces would help to contain the infection while a progressive but inevitable commitment of the hospitals, in the face of a massive increase in Covid cases, could lead to a reduction in activities of diagnosis and therapy for all other non-urgent pathologies. The concrete risk is that, of necessity, a whole series of however important activities may be postponed which, over time, could jeopardize the conditions of certain patients. The commitment of the whole health system is precisely to find solutions to try to prevent this latter eventuality, as well as fight the pandemic ».
So the experience of the first wave taught us nothing? This is a question we have already asked other colleagues of yours. «After the fear of the first moment and also the attention with which the measures imposed at various levels were respected, it seems that many have eased the tension, have behaved as if nothing had happened. And, sometimes, as if nothing was happening ».
And the steps back? «It absolutely cannot be said that this is the case. Because, for example, we now know more about this disease, and even much better how to deal with it. And to have these advantages, the communication between the various hospitals, research centers, doctors themselves, throughout Italy, but we could say all over the world, has been very, very useful. This is a significant step forward: the constant updating and sharing of data within the National Health Service will be a cultural approach to carry with us even after the emergency is over ».
To stigmatize certain levities, you recently turned to your own colleagues. «I have shared some reflections with them. In an article published in the Newsletter of the Order of Doctors I recalled that, it is hard to believe, there are studies that show how mistakes, in a profession, can occur at the beginning of the career, when there is inexperience, and in its “Apex prolungato ”, when the experience is such as to do everything automatically, thus fatally losing that healthy tension and attention to small details. And this is precisely what seems to be happening also with regard to anti-Covid protection measures: our fears, which in the first phase of the epidemic led us to extreme caution, have now become accessible fears that have made us lower our guard, making the unknown danger initially perceived as fatal manageable ».
What situations are you referring to? “I’m not just talking about others, about what you see in the media, but about the world around us: at work, at home, in free time. The correct use of the mask always, the physical spacing, the sanitization of the rooms, their ventilation, hand hygiene and all that common sense and protocols require often remain excellent intentions on paper affixed to the walls or in the mind. Whatever the place you go to, it is clear that the rules are often not respected, by virtue of any excuse: there are not enough spaces, you have to make up for lost time, the grandmother is offended, poor children, with the mask my nose itches , doctor suffocating, now the virus has weakened, it’s all a conspiracy of multinationals … The concept of the distance meter is not respected in many public places simply because there is no knowledge by people of what a meter really is , considered as such in good faith when in reality we are scarce eighty centimeters ».
And instead? «Invand those who always wear the mask and keep the right distance from other people often pass as eccentric or asocial, if not downright psychotic. With the necessary resumption of all activities, it would have been advisable to be cautious for a few more months but unfortunately the culture of the wild aperitif and of “freedom” at all costs has taken over. There is no possibility that public health is entrusted only to the good will of the people, hoping for a utopian collective awareness, even more soif the bad example also comes from illustrious figures. It is not necessary to be prophets in supposing that, with the growth of infections and hospitalizations, the restrictive measures imposed by decree will return with timely delay while it would have been not easy, but certainly useful, to maintain humility and healthy prudence with respect to an unknown evil. The same prudence that a few months ago allowed the community to get out of a situation as unexpected as it was serious. We try not to always look “elsewhere” guiltyzzing the others: each of us be the first to set a good example and others will follow us ».
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