“The European elections are on the horizon and at the same time the decree-law on healthcare waiting lists will arrive. As we have already said, the Liguria Social and Health Plan does not respond to the needs of the population: no response is given in terms of territorial medicine and we continue to witness the abandonment of internal areas. Waiting lists for medical visits are a problem that needs to be resolved with new hires and salary adjustments. Throughout the territory, the times to access the emergency room and for medical visits are impressive. The 2022 data speak of average waiting times in the emergency room of 10 hours, but in recent years average times of 17.58 hours have also been reached, especially in Genoa, also due to improper access”. The extraordinary regional commissioner of Uil Emanuele Ronzoni stated this in a press note, speaking on the topic of Ligurian healthcare.
“As regards visits, the days to wait for an urgent colonoscopy are 159 Imperia, 153 Savona, 141 Genoa, 145 Tigullio Goldo Paradiso and there are no booking possibilities in La Spezia. A cardiological visit to be performed urgently within 30 days? Here are the numbers: 216 days in Imperia, 176 in Savona, 89 in Genoa, 137 Tigullio Golfo Paradiso, 92 in La Spezia. In Liguria, out of 1,509,227 residents – continues Ronzoni – there are 434,834 elderly people over 65, 80 thousand of whom are over 80 years of age. In this context, more resources are needed for non-self-sufficiency, for the management of chronic conditions and for rare diseases. Coping with all these requests is not easy, but without resources it is impossible.”
“Based on monitoring by Agenas, the territories that are in difficulty will receive funds from the ministry to better remunerate staff, to cover overtime or to use accredited private structures. Let’s hope. We need to hire! The proposal, according to Uil, is rather imaginative and the Ministry of Health and Agenas have only partial data, which concern interventions in the oncology and cardiovascular areas. We are asking for more working hours from a staff already exhausted by the lack of staff – Ronzoni states – We need to discuss an extraordinary hiring plan, the reduction of the spending ceiling and the strengthening of the local medicine that this region really needs. If this is not the case, the national health service, but obviously also the regional one, will be the first accredited market customer. Meanwhile, the minister and the president of the State-Regions Conference do not show up for the negotiation for the renewal of the national collective bargaining agreement for accredited healthcare personnel and the resources allocated for the public contract continue to be insufficient”, concludes Ronzoni.
