Up to 2 or 3 years to carry out clinical tests which should be carried out urgently. This is the extreme situation experienced in healthcare, in Puglia, where Codacons launches a legal initiative in favor of citizens.
“As is known, there is a specific regulation on the maximum waiting list times, which is too often disregarded by health bodies”, Codacons explains in a note. “The National Waiting List Government Plan defines the priorities and maximum times for the provision of tests, specialist visits, hospital admissions and surgical interventions by the Health Service. Citizens who need immediate clinical tests have their appointment scheduled even up to 2 or 3 years later”, they denounce.
For this reason, Codacons and Articolo 32 (an association specialized in the protection of the right to health) have activated a service for members in Puglia, i.e. the assistance desk for citizens affected by the shortcomings of the national health service, through which they can request the health institution receives the services due within the legal timescales and without further financial burden. “Those who cannot afford to carry out visits and operations at private facilities are forced to wait indefinitely for public health services, risking seeing their living conditions worsen with serious repercussions on the health front. And what is even more serious is that some citizens even give up on treatment.”
The priority classes and related waiting times for health exams are indicated on the health prescriptions issued by the doctor, including in particular the criteria referred to in letters D and P (D = Deferrable – within 30 days for visits and within 60 days for instrumental services: services whose timely execution does not affect the patient’s short-term prognosis in a very limited period of time; P = Planned – to be provided over a longer period of time, within 120 days: services that can be scheduled in a longer period of time)
Citizens who have had their appointment for visits and medical tests scheduled after the legal deadlines can contact the appropriate desk and join the action aimed at asserting their rights.
