by Elisabetta Caredda
The council led by Alessandra Todde continues the outsourced active medical emergency service. Former councilor Nieddu: “Perhaps now the majority, finding themselves in the role of government responsibility, understands more the objective difficulties in having to deal with the problem of the shortage of doctors as it was when we were in government”. Controversy breaks out: the interventions of Agus (Progressives) and Piga (FdI). IT DETERMINES IT
04 JUN – The Region tries everything possible to try to recruit doctors and guarantee the service in the emergency rooms and first aid points, so much so that it plans to continue with initiatives already undertaken by the last legislature such as the use of the outsourced active medical on-call service taking into account that some facilities have thus faced the shortage of specialists since 2021.
Here then is the regional health company of Sardinia (Ares) approves the authorization to contract for the experiment of an open procedure for the assignment for 12 months of the active medical emergency service for the Gallura, Nuoro, Oristano, Medio Campidano and Sulcis local health authorities, based on the needs communicated so far for the emergency emergency departments of the respective territorial PP.OO.
The call for so-called ‘doctors for hire’ provides for a salary of 85 euros per hour, with an expected expenditure of 6,560,640.00 million euros. Considering the additional cost items such as the ‘compulsory fifth’, the extension option + 30%, the ANAC contribution and technical incentives, we arrive at 9,947,068.00 million euros.
The determination does not escape the former Health Councilor, Mario Nieddu, who appreciates the continuation of the initiative he launched already during the years of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, today also shared by councilor Armando Bartolazzi. The former member of the Council comments on Daily Healthcare: “I am pleased to note that the proposal that I have implemented starting from years that were difficult for everyone, which saw us committed in the last legislature to dealing with an emergency health situation, is today perhaps better understood by the current majority government than in a heated way instead they criticized me. Perhaps now, finding himself within the role of government responsibility, he understands more the objective difficulties in having to face the same problem regarding the shortage of doctors as it was when we were in government”, says Nieddu. “In my opinion, every attempt to find solutions, even if temporary, is not in vain. Only criticism without concrete alternative proposals is in vain.”
However, the ban on ‘doctors for hire’ arouses controversy within the majority itself, as in those of the opposition. In fact, there are those who remain consistent with the observations already made at his time, when the outsourced active medical on-call service was used from the first time. As Francesco Agus, leader of the Progressisti group, who commented in our newspaper: “From the first moment they signed this type of notice I was critical and obviously in due course it will also be discussed in the commission. In my opinion, rented doctors have worsened the situation by creating an absurd disincentive to work in the public system, as I have always supported also for the notices of the previous council”.
“Who will still work in a medical emergency room – continues the councilor – if, to do similar tasks, one can be paid more than double to work in an emergency room through a private person? Likewise: how can one tolerate that in Is an emergency room better paid for a doctor who deals with less urgent codes rather than someone who deals with yellow and red codes with consequent risks and stress? Doctors for rent were an experiment. In my opinion it failed: the damages were extremely greater than the benefits and it makes no sense to formally keep access points open if the substance does not correspond to the form and one is often forced to transfer patients to the more equipped hubs even, sometimes, due to the inadequacy of the medical personnel employed in this way. It does not make sense. This is also why our coalition was extremely clear on this issue during the electoral campaign. Therefore, as already mentioned in the commission, I would avoid extending the service, especially for such a long time.”
“I trust in immediate action on the part of the department – thunders Agus -: to analyze the data, compare costs and benefits, quantify what the contractor’s fee is, verify the real situation in the emergency areas, evaluate the results obtained in these years. If, despite existing contracts, the queue is always longer than 6 hours and if we are the first region in Italy for missed responses to calls (i.e. for patients who give up their visit due to waiting), the solution has evidently not been effective and it’s not a good idea to repeat it.”
For the FdI board group, through the voice of vice-president Fausto Piga: “An initiative which in the last legislature had already raised strong attacks from the Giallorossi opposition. However, now that the M5S and the left are sitting in the majority benches everything is more justifiable and surprisingly gives continuity to what the CDX started, albeit harshly criticized and denigrated. When we established the figure of the rented or paid doctor, we did it with a clear conscience and without alternatives. A necessary choice, but one that has never made us proud, because we pay more for a paid private doctor to a medical guard or a doctor in the public system who carries out similar tasks, we have always considered it an injustice”.
“For five years the M5S and the left made a list of things that didn’t work, now we consistently expect policies in discontinuity with the past: Todde says what she wants to do differently and better than the centre-right to improve Sardinian healthcare. The majority is inconsistent, they say one thing and do another. We will certainly delve deeper into the topic in the classroom so that we can see clearly about the new call for paid doctors” – concludes Piga.
Elisabetta Caredda
04 June 2024
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