The situation in Italian hospitals, complicated by Covid, is increasingly difficult due to the shortage of doctors and staff. To the point that Anaao Assomed (the mayor most representative of public service hospital doctors) has decided to proclaim a state of agitation and, with the hashtag #primadivotarepensaallasalute, says it is ready for “a season of mobilization”.
4,200 doctors are missing in the emergency rooms
The Simeu (Italian Society of Emergency Medicine) has also raised the alarm: in the ER there are about 4,200 white coats missing according to the data of last November, and there are already 600 who resigned in 2022, practically 100 at month. The straw that broke the camel’s back, for Anaao, was the death of the doctor of the Manduria hospital, struck down by an illness while he was in the ward. For the union, however, it is “only the latest episode” that “certifies the collapse of health care.” Guaranteeing assistance, Simeu also admits, is increasingly difficult, also because requests for help in the emergency rooms “have increased by an average of 20% compared to the same period last year”. For Simeu it is “the worst summer since the Emergency Urgency exists”.
The problems on the territory
The number of patients who remain in the emergency room waiting for hospitalization for a long time is also increasing. According to Anaao “there is a lack of doctors, there is a lack of health managers (biologists, physicists, chemists)” and “there is a lack of security for both professionals and patients. From north to south of the peninsula, reports of heavy suffering experienced in hospitals multiply ”.
Access to the training course for almost 2,800 young doctors
At least on the family medicine front, a breath of fresh air could arrive: the Fimmg (Italian Federation of General Practitioners) has made it known that the Health Commission of the Regions has approved the training needs for 2022/2025 which will allow access in the specific training course for almost 2,800 young doctors. These “new colleagues”, explains Fimmg, will be “immediately ready to take charge of 1,000 clients each with the support of a tutor, as required by the new legislation”.
Fnomceo’s appeal
Meanwhile, Fnomceo (National Federation of the Orders of Surgeons and Dentists), launches an appeal to the new Government and the new Parliament to strengthen the National Health Service. Priority, for the Federation of Medical Orders, is the fight against the shortage of doctors and health inequalities among citizens.