The president of the Order, Stefano Capelli: «Serious situation». Fimmg and Snami: “Dozens of retirements on the territory”
BELLUNO. There are over seventy doctors between the hospital and the territory who are missing in the province of Belluno and the alarm is loudly raised by the Order and the trade unions: “Action is taken immediately or in a couple of years the people of Belluno will find themselves without assistance medical “.
The numbers
“The situation is serious,” says Stefano Capelli, president of the Belluno Medical Association. «As of December 31, 2020, the hospitals of the Ulss Dolomiti were missing 54 white coats. Of course, in the meantime the company has taken steps to hire me or to stipulate free professional contracts, but many other doctors have left in recent months. And then on the front of general practitioners, 21 places were discovered last July in the province, out of a hundred professionals. Without considering that many of these overall posts have been provisionally assigned and the turnover is very high.
But the worst is yet to come “, says Capelli who adds:” The situation was already precarious in itself a few years ago, but now Covid has given the coup de grace, exposing the important shortcomings of the health system And despite some action corrective implemented lately, it will take 4-5 years before we see the results. The real drama, therefore, is to cover this time frame. And this is because of the policy that in the last 20 years has carried out a program far removed from necessity, without any evaluation of the impact of the choices on the health system, used as an ATM. The only hope now is the Pnrr which should provide fresh resources for health care, including the territorial ones ”.
The situation
In July there were 21 so-called deficient areas in the province, that is, 21 doctors were missing to guarantee the service to citizens, while there were three lacking free choice pediatricians (in the province there are currently twenty these specialists). And the greatest criticalities are recorded above all in the upper part of the province.
«With regard to local medicine, the mass retirement of all those professionals born in the 1950s is expected between now and the next 2-3 years. We are talking about a few dozen people who will leave, leaving empty places that are difficult to cover given the shortage of professionals, ”said Umberto Rossa, president of the Fimmg. “And unfortunately in the regional specialization schools, the numbers of admissions are still low”.
«Consider that this year in Veneto 100 scholarships for family medicine have been made available, a negligible number compared to the need. There is the possibility for those who enter the specialty to start following some patients, but it is little compared to the needs », emphasizes Capelli.
“If until a few months ago the situation was serious, now it is dramatic”, Fabio Bortot, Fimmg’s trustee, cut short. “Soon citizens will have difficulty finding a doctor to follow them while the service will become increasingly important given the aging of the population. And then the doctors who remain will have to take on the patients of the others as well, increasing their clients. But will they have the strength to follow everyone? », Concludes Bortot. Roberto Sernaglia of Snami is also worried. “We have been sounding the alarm for years, but politics hasn’t done much to resolve the situation. Economic incentives would be needed to get doctors to come up here to the mountains and for clinics to be provided either free of charge or with prices controlled by the ULSS or by the municipalities. It would be a starting point ».
In hospitals
Luca Barutta from Anaao also agrees that at least one incentive is needed. “Even in the hospital the situation is getting heavy: many doctors are leaving and it is difficult to find replacements. With what follows for those who stay. Why not make these areas more attractive by giving something extra in your paycheck? I think it is time for the healthcare company to invest in people and also risk exceeding the budget. There are two ways: either you make ends meet or you ensure the service to the citizens ».
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