These are some elements of the health chapter of the 56th Censis Report on the country’s social situation which tells of an uncertain and latent country with respect to its future. Even for healthcare, the future appears uncertain with what Censis calls “”Signals of new healthcare to be verified”. But some data at the moment speak for themselves: the incidence of funding from the National Health System will drop to 6.2% of GDP in 2024 (it was 7.3% in 2020) and from 2008 to 2020 the doctor/inhabitant ratio decreased from 19.1 to 17.3 per 10,000 residents, and that relating to nurses from 46.9 to 44.4 per 10,000 residents.
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“Three years, four deep crises: the pandemic that seemed to be behind us, the soaring cost of living, the war in Europe, the cost of energy services. Hence the question «where are we?» which brings back to the center of social consciousness the indispensable effort for a wide-ranging look, against any hypothesis of a short-term solution”.
The question was asked yesterday by Censis introducing its 56th Report on the social situation of the country which also this year has tried to “tell” Italy from different points of observation, among which there is no shortage of health care.
A country that lives in a state of latency. “Our country – underlines Censi – despite the stratification of crises and difficulties, does not regress thanks to individual effort, but does not mature. He receives and produces stimuli to work, to put himself under strain, to confront the wounds of history, but he does not show a substantial reaction: he renounces the pretension to look forward. It lives in a sort of response latency, waiting for the signals of its economic and social sensors to be translated into a mapping scheme of reality and needs, adaptation, functioning”.
And for healthcare? What’s the situation? For Censis there are “Signs of new health to be verified”. According to Censis surveys, for 61.0% of Italians, the Health Service will improve in the coming years also thanks to the lessons learned during the pandemic.
How? Among the things they need in the next five years, 50.9% of citizens indicate the increase in the number of general practitioners, 46.7% the modernization of technologies and diagnostic equipment for tests, 45.3% % the activation or strengthening of services in the area, such as the Health Homes, 39.6% more beds in hospitals, 34.0% the activation of digital home assistance (teleconsultation, teleassistance).
Furthermore, for 93.7% of Italians, public spending on health and healthcare research is an investment, not a cost. 94.4% expect scientific research and innovation to improve the efficacy of treatments and the quality of life in the case of chronic diseases, 92.0% expect innovative techniques to be discovered to combat new viruses and bacteria, 91.1% % that the risk of getting sick is reduced.
70.1% of citizens are ready to make data on their health available for studies, research and experimentation. And 80.2% expect the study of big data to give concrete help in the creation of personalized therapies and drugs.
Identikit of the future patient already in training. The renewed social centrality of health imposed by the pandemic, explains Censis, increases the will of citizens to play an active role in the processes concerning their own health.
66.9% of Italians declare that they inform themselves independently on the web and social networks about aspects of their health, from symptoms to pathologies, with higher values among women (70%), young people (77.1%) and graduates (74.4%).
Mature subjectivity, underlines Censis, is also expressed in the request for increasingly individualized drugs, services, benefits and therapeutic solutions: it is very or quite important for 94.3% of Italians to have greater personalization of care, for 92 .9% that the care pathways, from home to the territory, up to hospitals, are modulated on the personal needs of the patient. In this context, 92.1% declare that they have a lot or enough faith in doctors and for 83.9% they must be at the center of future health care.
Despite the extraordinary importance attributed to digital healthcare, over 80% of Italians are convinced that digital technology should never replace the human relationship with the doctor.
More sustainable, healthier. According to Censis, 91.1% of Italians declare themselves ready to change their lifestyle for a more sustainable society, of which 41.0% are ready to implement a radical change in their habits.
Mobility, a sector with a high impact on air pollution with negative repercussions also for people’s health, is an area in which citizens’ opinions and behavior are evolving towards greater sustainability. 64.5% declare that they move on foot, avoiding using the car or other vehicles, when the distance between the place of departure and the place of arrival allows it.
And 62.2% are in favor of Sundays in which there is a ban on the circulation of the most polluting vehicles. In food consumption, for 48.1% of Italians, impact on health and attention to the environment are factors that coexist and guide choices and purchasing decisions.
Healthcare without doctors and nurses. While in the decade 2010-2019 the National Health Fund recorded an average annual increase of 0.8%, going from 105.6 to 113.8 billion euros, in 2020 it increased to 120.6 billion, with an average annual increase by 1.6% in the 2020-2022 period due to the measures to deal with the Covid emergency.
But the incidence of the financing of the national health system, finally underlines the Censis, will drop to 6.2% of GDP in 2024 (it was 7.3% in 2020). From 2008 to 2020, the doctor/inhabitant ratio in Italy decreased from 19.1 to 17.3 for every 10,000 residents, and that relating to nurses from 46.9 to 44.4 for every 10,000 residents.
The average age of the 103,092 NHS doctors is 51.3 years, 47.3 years that of the nurses. 28.5% of doctors are over 60 and a substantial number are approaching retirement age. It is estimated that, in the five-year period 2022-2027, there will be 29,331 retirements among doctors employed by the NHS, 21,050 among nursing staff.
Of the 41,707 family doctors, 11,865 will retire (2,373 a year).
03 December 2022
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