The circular that frozen non-urgent operations for unvaccinated patients at the Irccs Galeazzi Orthopedic Institute in Milan is no longer valid. Fabrizio Pregliasco, health director of Galeazzi, communicates with a letter addressed to the director of the newspaper ‘La Verità’, Maurizio Belpietro, the overcoming of the circular which provided for the postponement of non-urgent interventions on fragile patients, which also included non in possession of Super green pass.
The precautionary provision, dictated by the worsening of the Covid-19 emergency, which however now “has fallen” in light of the changed epidemiological scenario. “After several days of controversy that arose as a result of a provision signed by me – writes the virologist of the State University of Milan, who yesterday did not want to make any statements – I thought it appropriate” to clarify, “also for the protection of patients who every day trust the Galeazzi Institute and the professionals who work there. The provision of last January 3 “, which aroused controversy on social media and media because” it was considered to infringe the rights of unvaccinated patients – reads the letter published today – is born in a context of particular emergency, determined by the then growing pressure on hospital activity, caused by the fourth wave of the Covid emergency “.
“At that precise moment, the two evidences were the exponential increase in hospitalizations of positive Covid patients and the increase in health personnel forced into quarantine. In that situation, as the medical director” of Galeazzi, “I had the duty to guarantee the maintenance of surgical and hospitalization activities that cannot be postponed, as well as the emergency room activity. For this reason, and only for a period of 2 weeks, as clearly emerges from the text of the circular – points out Pregliasco – some non-urgent interventions of patients among the most fragile patients I considered, although not foreseen, to include, among others, those who were not in possession of the reinforced Green pass, in order to protect the vulnerable subjects who they contract it more easily and in order not to risk seeing an increase in the number of beds in intensive care “.
Now “I would like to reassure you and your readers – continues the doctor in the letter to Belpietro – regarding the fact that this provision has lapsed, having given indications on the matter and assuming the responsibility of having taken a decision at the time that is no longer necessary given the current epidemiological situation. At the same time – adds the director of Galeazzi – I would like to underline that our waiting lists reflect only the requirement of clinical and surgical urgency, following the current legislation, in total transparency. Furthermore, I am sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused to some of our patients, not by our will, but because of the emergency that occurred 2 weeks ago, and I have already given instructions for them to be contacted to reschedule the interventions. With these lines – concludes Pregliasco – I hope I have made a contribution to clarify the story definitively “.