ANCONA In 2023, almost 4.5 million Italians gave up on treatment even though they needed it, especially due to waiting lists that got out of control. A health tsunami that also overwhelms the Marche, which ended up on the podium of the worst regions in Italy in this phenomenon: we earned the less than honorable bronze medal, coming third after Sardinia and Lazio. The alarming photograph was taken by Istat, which in the BES report presented in recent days, underlines how in Italy «around 4.5 million citizens have had to give up visits or checks due to economic problems, waiting lists or difficulties in access”.
Growing numbers
We are talking about approximately 372 thousand more citizens compared to 2022, an increase which «can be attributed to direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic shock, such as the recovery of waiting services deferred due to Covid or the difficulty of effectively reorganizing healthcare, taking into account constraints to cover the increase in demand for services with an adequate number of professional resources”, explains Istat. The analysis concerns the lack of access to medical visits (excluding dental ones) or diagnostic tests deemed necessary: the share of people who in 2023 had to do without treatment amounted to 7.6% of the population, up from 7% of the previous year. And the Marche region did worse than the national average: if in 2022 they aligned with the 7% recorded on average in the Bel Paese, in 2023 they came close to 10%, settling at 9.7.
The negative trend
A disaffection with the healthcare system which, according to Istat, is more linked to interminable waiting lists than to economic difficulties of patients or access to facilities. A Caporetto of public health which ends up favoring the transfer towards the private sector, where it is possible to obtain services in appropriate times. At least for those who can afford them, which risks making healthcare a matter for the rich. The national government’s meritorious decision to allocate ad hoc funds to recover the waiting lists – translated into operational plans by all the Regions, including the Marche – does not seem to be enough to reverse a trend that has taken a dangerous slope.
The timeline
2020 and 2021 (the black two-year period of Covid) saw a general worsening at a national level, but more marked in our region than the average, and the almost realignment that had loomed in 2022 has turned into a return to the negative trend in 2023. In the general problem, there is also a gender issue: in line with the national distortion, even in the Marche region women emerge worse than men. In 2023, 11.6% of Marche women gave up healthcare services, compared to 7.8% of men. When citizens decide to give up treatment – whether the reason is linked to costs or unacceptable waiting times – it is still a defeat for the entire healthcare system, which just doesn’t seem to be able to get back on track after the derailment caused by Covid. And those who pay the price – in every sense – are the people, so disheartened that they stop carrying out visits and checks, with all due respect to prevention and public health. We need a clear change of pace immediately.
Tags: Shocking waiting lists people Marche region give treatment regions worse
