It was yesterday afternoon when the President of the Lazio Region, Francesco Roccaannounces a further tranche of new hires And stabilization of precarious workers in Regional Healthcare. Free contacts him to understand the state of the art almost a year and a half after his election.
President Rocca, a new tranche of hiring, after that of about four months ago. How many temporary workers have you absorbed into healthcare and what is the prospective objective?
«We have just launched the largest investment in healthcare personnel in the last twenty years: 9,700 new hires and stabilizations. A fundamental breath of fresh air to bet on the future of the Regional Health Service. The prospective objective is to strengthen healthcare in Lazio, fully implementing the right to health for all citizens and making healthcare in Lazio increasingly competitive. The situation was disastrous, now we are changing course.”
The left continues to accuse her of favoring the private sector. There have been criticisms about the decision to allocate 7 million to this sector. How do you reply?
«466 million euros invested in public health human resources from January to today alone. 661 million since my inauguration. The numbers speak for themselves. It’s funny that these accusations come from the left which, in the last 10 years, has increased funding for private healthcare by half a billion euros. The new Umberto I Polyclinic could have been built there. We asked private individuals to assume responsibility: insert all services into the Recup (service booking system, editor’s note) and provide beds to decongest public structures. Therefore, no gifts or favors. In fact, those who refused to collaborate with the Region had their accreditation suspended.
During the election campaign last year, some key issues were addressed. Let’s start with the waiting lists. How is the situation today?
«Waiting times for some services have been reduced by up to 52%. I’ll give you an example: if it took 121 days for an MRI of the brain in 2023, today it takes 69, keeping in mind that one of the post-pandemic effects is the increase in requests for diagnostic tests of over a million. A starting point, of course, and not an arrival point. To date we have integrated over 1,700,000 private services into the single booking system, which will reach 4 million in the coming months. From the end of May you will also be able to book throughout the regional territory from any booking point. A complex of very complex actions whose results tell us that we are going in the right direction.”
Second point: the crowding of the emergency rooms. Has the situation changed?
«The experimental project to reduce overcrowding that we have launched is giving the first encouraging responses: the number of ambulances and stretchers blocked in emergency rooms has decreased by 83%; drop of 29% for a bed and 28% of waits between the ED visit and discharge. As with the waiting lists, we know that the road is still very long, but these first data confirm that it is the right one.
A few months ago the news was shocked by a tragic event, the fire at the Tivoli hospital which shone a light on the safety conditions of hospitals in Lazio. How did the Region move?
«Well before the Tivoli fire occurred, we were fully aware of the critical issues and degradation affecting many healthcare facilities in Lazio. Precisely for this reason, last July, we allocated 700 million euros for the safety of patients and operators, fire prevention and earthquake prevention. On Tivoli, as soon as the Prosecutor’s Office ordered the release of the structure, we set a timetable for the reopening of all the departments. To date, 8 of them are operational. The horizon, for Tivoli, always remains the construction of the New Tiburtino Hospital on which we will proceed quickly”.
And as regards hospital construction and the dilapidation of many structures, has any progress been made?
«First of all, I remember that we found over 500 million euros not planned by those who preceded us. In less than 4 months we have launched a huge investment plan for healthcare construction, amounting to 1 billion and 200 million euros, committing all available resources, to which are added the 5 new hospitals that our council will build in the coming years, without forgetting the new Policlinico Umberto I”.
Autonomy is facing its parliamentary process in the Chamber. As President of the Region, do you expect a backlash regarding territorial imbalances?
«No, I expect a reform that takes into account the peculiarities of each individual Region. I hope that, in the parliamentary debate, the criterion of historical expenditure which would create disparities between territories in the provision of services can be overcome and that the new regulatory system fully implements our Constitution, in the sense of virtuous subsidiarity”.
In a few months the Jubilee will begin. A huge influx of pilgrims will mean trying, especially in Rome, to cope with a demand for first aid that will probably increase. How are you preparing for this?
«We have 155 million euros available which we are committing to strengthen the emergency-urgency system in Lazio, optimizing emergency room routes and providing healthcare facilities with new and modern machinery. The Regional Health Service will be ready.”
Another central theme during the electoral campaign was the Region’s indebtedness. What is the picture today?
«More than during the electoral campaign, the bad surprises arrived once the government of the Lazio region was concerned. In fact, when we took office, we found ourselves faced with a devastating financial panorama: over 22 billion euros in debt, a burden that every year subtracts 524 million in interest expenditure from the regional coffers. The work we have undertaken since the first months is now starting to reward us: it is no coincidence, in fact, that the Moody’s agency has recorded an increase in the Region’s rating. Our economic policies were praised, in particular the firm desire not to contract new debt.”
