Corsica is the only region of France not to have a PET scan (Positron Emission Tomography), while cancer is the leading cause of death on the island with 30% of deaths. Nearly 4,000 patients need this state-of-the-art tool, essential for the diagnosis and monitoring of cancerous tumours, whether at the initial phase or in the event of recurrence, as well as for evaluating the care to be provided. Patients must perform this examination on the continent, but only half make the trip. To overcome this lack, a project to install a TEPscan, or even two – one at the Aiacciu hospital, the other at the Bastia hospital – has existed since 2015 and is supported by the Corsica Community. If it has fallen behind due to the health crisis, it seems to be stalling today. Thursday morning, during the sequence of oral questions at the Assembly of Corsica, Véronique Pietri, on behalf of the Core In Fronte group, challenged the Corsican Executive on the subject.
A deadly addiction
On July 25, the independence movement had already denounced “ a situation of renunciation of the care of our Paisani ” and his ” refusal to continue to suffer this deadly health dependence imposed by France on Corsica “. Véronique Pietri points out that ” the entire French territory is equipped with a TEPscan for 400,000 inhabitants, including the DOM-TOMs “. And to quote the Coteri report of April 2015 which confirmed the qualitative and quantitative need for PET scans in Corsica and the 2012-2016 Regional Health Plan which stipulated its implementation. It also recalls the unanimous vote in the Assembly of Corsica on a motion presented by Danielle Antonini, on behalf of the “Femu a Corsica” group in September 2019 and the referral by the Senator for South Corsica, Jean Jacques Panunzi, of the Minister of health on the subject. Believing that ” the Executive has the skills to play a leading role in this essential project for Corsica “, she asks:” When, concretely, do you intend to materialize with all the authorities concerned, the establishment of two Tepscans, one in Aiacciu and one in Bastia? Could you give us a precise timetable for the realization of the installation of a vital, major and urgent claim? “. Before concluding : “ Any possible procrastination coming to slow down, if not obstruct, a health project of great and undeniable importance could only be qualified as negligence. ».
Transport by drone
The executive adviser in charge of health, Bianca Fazi, also an emergency doctor at the Aiacciu hospital, assures of her will and that of the Executive Council ” to build a health system that meets the needs of Corsicans, as close as possible to their homes. The Corsicans can count on our full involvement in this subject, which requires, as we know, a structuring public policy, adapted to our island, in which we are involved with determination and commitment. “. She reaffirms that “the management of cancer, the leading cause of death in Corsica, is a public health priority and the installation of one or two PET scans is one of the responses to the need for diagnosis of this disease “. She returns to the motion which was the subject of a letter to the Minister of Health, ” in which we asked for the installation of two devices on the sites of Bastia and Aiacciu, associated with a cyclotron on one of the two sites, in order to provide our island with this high-performance medical equipment in the diagnosis of cancers “. The Minister replied that if the establishment of a TEPscan in Corsica is a shared objective, it is advisable to continue the investigation of this file in all its extent » making the link with « the transfer program of the oncology activity from the hospital center of Castellucciu to the hospital center of Aiacciu “. Bianca Fazi indicates the implementation schedule, which was to be validated in January 2021 as part of the project’s steering committee, has been disrupted by the health crisis. And elaborates: I exchanged with the ARS (Regional Health Agency) before the presidential elections on the subject, which was awaiting a planned change of majority, but above all of a Minister. It would seem that the transport of these dangerous materials has a very high cost. We are therefore moving towards an innovation: it is a transport by drone. The project is on the table of the DGOS (Directorate General for Health Care) and should be refereed very soon ».
A powerful system
This being said, the executive adviser explains that the installation of PET scans is not the only answer to the problem of cancer care. “ It is certainly part of the care, but it must above all be part of a global health system, redesigned and adapted to the needs of Corsicans in this area; this is our approach “. She announces that the Corsican Executive intends to go further in this area: ” We are working to build the Corsican health system of tomorrow, thanks to several levers. First, thn mobilizing ourselves on a project to create a university hospital center (CHRU) which will be able to have university specialists in certain pathologies. By proposing a renewed organization of the care chain, which will allow Corsicans to benefit from high quality care, closer to home and their families, for example, by better linking city medicine and hospital system. Also, by promoting constructive collaboration between private structures and hospitals. By supporting medical students from the very first years in order to promote the installation of young doctors in rural areas who will be able to ensure regular care for our elders. Finally, by making prevention in the field of health a strong focus of the policy of the Collectivity in this area “. To build this health system, the Executive relies on territorial diagnoses of the health offer, actors in the field, professionals and users and university professors. ” We want a health system that is efficient and fair in its care proposals. We want to allow the Corsicans to have every chance of preserving this precious good that is health. It is in this spirit that we work and work, serving the interests of Corsica and its people. ».
N.M.
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