5 months for the mammogram (to be done in 10 days). Patients on stretchers for days in the emergency room – breaking latest news

They can wait 60 days for a first cardiological visit with priority code B, i.e to be done within 10 days according to the clinical indication given by the doctor on the prescription of the National Health Service. 60 days of waiting even for one gynecological visit with priority U (urgent), i.e to be performed within 72 hours. And it even comes to 150 days of waiting to have a mammogram prescribed with code B, then to be done within 10 days. Some have waited three months before being operated on for a uterine cancer (the intervention, in class A, had to be done within 30 days). And then: exhausting waiting times al Emergency roomwith even elderly patients forced to stay hours, if not days, on stretchers in the corridors, waiting for the hospitalization bed to become free. It’s still: not being able to find a general practitioner in many areas of the country to replace the retired doctor. They are among the inconveniences reported by over 14 thousand citizens, during 2022, to the PiT Salute service of Cittadinanzattiva and to the territorial sections of the Tribunal for the rights of the patient, collected in R
Urgency Health contribution Of active citizenship, submitted to the Ministry of Health.

Permanent mobilization

This is the first stage of the permanent mobilization promoted by the civic organization in defense of the National Health Service, which continues with the garrison starting at 2 pm, in Rome in Piazza Castellani, near the Ministry of Health, with other initiatives at the local level in the coming days, with the petition on Change.

Difficult access to performance

Access to healthcare services is the most critical area for citizens who have turned to Cittadinanzattiva. 2022 was supposed to be the year of recovery after two years of pandemic, however, the Report highlights, almost all of the Regions did not recover their late services e nnot all have used the 500 million fund allocated in 2022 for the recovery of waiting lists. In particular, around 33% of resources were not used, for a total of 165 million. And the citizens met deny the right to timely access to health services which must be guaranteed by the Health Service.

Blocked lists (but the law forbids it)

In addition to the failure to respect the times in accessing treatment, despite the fact that the National government plan for waiting lists 2019-2021many citizens complain about the difficulty contacting the Cup and the impossibility of booking services due to blocked lists (prohibited by law n. 266/2005). It also happens that the patients are directed by the Cup operators themselves to carry out the service intramoenia or privatelydespite a state law (Legislative decree 124/1998) ) establish the right of the citizen (at his request) to have the benefit under the intramoenia regime but at the expense of the Health Service if the local health authority is unable to comply with the terms guaranteed by law.

Forgo care due to high costs

In 2022, the share of people who declare they will increase have paid in full at their own expense both for specialist visits (from 37% in 2019 to 41.8% in 2022) and for diagnostic tests (from 23% to 27.6%). Citizens complain i high costs who have had to undergo specialist visits, intramoenia or private diagnostic tests since they have not been able to access the services of the Health Service. Those who cannot afford to pay, on the other hand, give up on treatment. Istat surveys show that in 2022 there was a reduction in the percentage of people who underwent specialist visits (from 42.3% in 2019 to 38.8% in 2022) or diagnostic tests (from 35.7% to 32 %).

Extreme emergency room

Another particularly critical area is that of Emergency roomin particular among the most recurring reports from patients there are: excessive waiting to carry out or complete the triage, crowded emergency room, lack of information for the patient or family member, lack of beds in the hospitalization ward, shortage of medical personnel, patients in a wheelchair or on a stretcher along the corridors for hours/days.

Prevention: cancer screenings in decline

About the programs free cancer screenings for some segments of the population, invitations from the Local Health Authorities decreased in 2020, in particular by 29% for mammography screening, by 24% for colorectal and cervical screening. They have also been reported difficulty in booking them independently.
As for the vaccinescoverage for measles, chickenpox, meningococcus C increases, but coverage for the flu vaccine decreases in the 2021-22 season, especially in the elderly (a good 7 percentage points less than the previous season).

Primary care and community care

The area of ​​primary care and proximity assistance remain another crucial sector for citizens. As for primary care, the reports mainly concern: relationship with general practitioners and pediatricians of free choice, connection between different areas of assistance, continuity of assistance / former medical guard and integrated home assistance. With respect to proximity assistance, citizens denounce great delays in taking charge by the structures present in the area and, in the most extreme cases, a total absence of the social welfare services that should be activated, particularly in these areas: Nursing Home/long-term care and other residential facilities, mental health, integrated home care (Adi), outpatient and home rehabilitation assistance.
The activation phase of home assistance is particularly difficult, as reported by almost 34% of citizens who turn to Cittadinanzattiva. Furthermore, 21% consider the number of days/hours of assistance insufficient, 17% the pain management inadequate, 8% the psychological assistance inadequate.

Healthcare professionals twice victimized by the pandemic

On the basis of data from a survey involving 10,000 health workers belonging to twenty professional categories, it appears that over 46% say they are satisfied with their career path, but not as much with their work environment which stimulates little or no personal and professional growth. Over 40% of professionals say they have unsustainable workloads and one out of three fails to balance work times with those of private life at all. Twice victims of the pandemic, not only because of the demanding workload, but also because they are the privileged target of collective exasperation: 31.6% report having been the victim of aggression (verbal or physical) by users in the last three years, 20.7% by a superior and 18.4% by colleagues. And 65.9% of those interviewed complain about the absence of a psychological listening point in the workplace.

Saving the common home (of the NHS)

The Manifesto launched on the occasion of the day reiterates that for the citizens the public health the common housebuilt more than forty years ago through the birth of the National Health Service, to guarantee equal and free treatment for all, throughout the country. But this common house in danger ed urgent action. As? Five are the main proposals of Cittadinanzattiva. The general secretary Anna Lisa Mandorino summarizes them: We ask for theperiodic updating and constant monitoring of the essential levels of assistance which must be guaranteed and payable throughout the national territory; L’elimination of waiting lists through an investment in human and technical resources, better programming and transparency of the various channels, a concrete commitment by the Regions for local government plans for waiting lists. And then – continues Mandorino – the recognition and implementation of the right to digital health to reduce bureaucracy

, communicate better with professionals and access remote services; there guarantee of treatment and assistance pathways for chronic and rare patients and, in particular, of non self-sufficient peoplefinancing the new law for non self-sufficient elderly people and resuming theregulatory process for the recognition of caregivers; l’implementation of the territorial assistance reform envisaged by the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan ed), with the involvement of local communities and local professionals.