The objective of the Veneto Region is to reduce waiting times and lighten the load of the emergency room, without depending on the so-called “coin doctors”.
To achieve this objective, the Region has recruited almost 500 freelance doctors in response to the selection notices published by the Palazzo Balbi body.
The general director of regional health, Massimo Annichiarico, commented that the result was “beyond expectations”.
These doctors will have a direct relationship with the Local Specialist Units (LSU) and will receive an hourly salary varying between 60 and 80 euros.
Annichiarico anticipated that the hiring will take place shortly. Within two months, exactly 495 specialists, including pensioners, responded to the selection notices for freelance doctors issued by the Region.
Currently, the token doctors provided by the cooperatives cover 42,061 hospital shifts, of which 15,490 in reception and emergency rooms, 9,990 in operating rooms and intensive care, 3,729 in obstetrics and gynecology, and 2,604 in pediatrics, as well as other shifts in medicine internal medicine, geriatrics and radiology. Without these shift workers, departments with an estimated shortage of 3,500 medical personnel would risk not being able to operate.
Tags: Veneto Region recruits doctors waiting lists token operators
