“The lesson was very hard. But we have learned. Even from mistakes. And now we look forward with confidence, especially since there is now the vaccine“.
Marco Benazzo, 61 years old, has lived and lives the tsunami of the pandemic that has forever changed the face of Lombard and Pavia healthcare in his dual role as dean of the University’s Faculty of Medicine and Head of Otolaryngology at the San Matteo Polyclinic, carrying out a hinge role between academia and hospital from the front line.
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“Covid has undoubtedly reactivated some latent criticalities both at a territorial and regional level – he explains – aspects that had not been taken into consideration for some time and that have re-emerged in all their importance in the face of the pandemic”.
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Since March 2020, when numbers began to grow exponentially, bringing Lombard health to its knees first and then nationally, as the infection spread like wildfire, Benazzo he lived through the phases of fears, hopes, worries that have followed one another in waves this year. As well as in waves the Coronavirus presented itself and reappeared, a tenacious enemy and, at the moment, still not defeated.
“We have experienced very negative moments, it is useless to hide it – continues the professor -. But I would say that now, with the arrival of vaccines, we can really finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even if this does not mean letting our guard down” .
Covid has upset the whole society. The biggest impact has been on healthcare. “As always in life, lessons are learned from the most dramatic experiences which are then transformed, little by little, into positive aspects – he continues -. I quote an example of all that I, from the double role that I find myself covering, live every day. The pandemic has forced us to create a commonality of intent, create synergies, laying the foundations for unprecedented teamwork. Both from a clinical and organizational point of view. The collaboration between all the health organizations present in the area is truly important. And not only in Pavia. Clinical channels have opened up between all the institutions. Of course, all this in the midst of a thousand critical issues, which however have been addressed from time to time. And often overcome “.
Hospital and University, rubbing shoulders against the virus. And not only. “The crisis unit of the polyclinic was and is a fundamental defense – he recalls Benazzo -. From an academic point of view, there were problems at the beginning for teaching, since in medicine face-to-face teaching, both for trainees and internships, is fundamental. But we took the opportunity to strengthen Dad in such a way that it is now a certainty, no longer an experiment. “
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In short, the lesson of Covid, however hard, has served. And many things have changed. Or they are changing. “I go back to underlining the concept of collaboration. There is a rapprochement of the local hospitals, all of them, with unity of purpose. There are important joint-venture projects that are being created. It has been understood that we cannot proceed, in health care, each on his own. Least of all in the face of a pandemic. The university, in this context, plays a fundamental role for the future: just think that the Faculty of Medicine is the largest. , in our province, leaps and bounds. The polyclinic is a battleship, it must be coordinator with the other health centers, while respecting their autonomy. We need to understand where the Pavia healthcare system wants to go and where it is going. it must be a rapprochement of local hospitals and unity of purpose. This is the main lesson that the pandemic has taught us “.
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