They all mention it in political programs. And it could not be otherwise, considering that health care represents the main expenditure item of the state: with 124 billion euros every year, equal to 8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Yet, sifting through the documents that summarize the intentions of the candidate leaders in the elections on 25 September, it is not easy to understand how politicians intend to administer resources, organize companies and manage the personnel called to take care of Italians.
Many good intentions
Posters are full of good intentions. It could not be otherwise, on the other hand, considering the weight that health management has on the state budget and the challenge that the next government is called to carry out: translating the long list of objectives of which the Plan is full into concrete actions. National Recovery and Resilience (Pnrr). And which touch on all the most urgent issues: from the management of the pandemic to taking care of patients with mental health problems, from the right to a healthy old age to the need to update the National Cancer Plan. Without neglecting the wounds of emergency and urgent care, with first aid in debt of oxygen and less and less attractive for professionals. And the eternal problem – especially in the southern regions – of waiting lists.
All rumors that – an aspect that emerged with the arrival of the pandemic and still at the center of the debate – cannot ignore a profound revision of territorial medicine.
The reality of the facts, however, is that in Italy over eighty thousand units would be missing: doctors and nurses. Professionals without whom it becomes difficult to carry out the revolution envisaged by mission 6 of the Pnrr, with the allocation of almost 20 billion euros to give another face to local healthcare and to innovate the national healthcare offer: focusing on research and the digitization of care .
The issue of the recruitment of new professionals is therefore the first that the new government will have to face, considering whether or not to remove the limited number barrier from access to the degree course in medicine and surgery and continuing along the path opened by the outgoing minister Roberto Speranza. : proponent of a first increase in specialization grants, but still insufficient to eliminate the difficulties in the ward in the next 3-4 years. Then all the others will come, more linked to the individual specialties.
We have decided to deal with these on a journey through stages in the electoral programs of Italian political leaders. What do they intend to do – from right to left: from Giorgia Meloni to Enrico Letta – to protect the integrity and principles (universality, equality, equity) of our national health system and ensure that its effectiveness continues to determine one of the lowest death rates in the Old Continent? We will try to tell you about it by sifting through the posters and the declarations made in the – short, but intense – march towards 25 September. The first episode will be dedicated to mental health, but we will also talk about territorial medicine, pandemic management, abortion. Have a good trip. And – above all – good grade.
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