Giuseppe Mazzuca (Pd): 118 associations still without agreement, the ASP of Cosenza keeps its commitments

For years now, the voluntary associations that guarantee the support service to the 118 emergency system have been waiting for responses from the Region and the provincial health authority of Cosenza. After having undertaken a long battle for the release of the authorization and accreditation procedures from the Region’s Health Protection Department, inexplicable delays continue to accumulate: the stipulation of an agreement for the emergency medical transport service, as required by the new law, is missing on the Third Sector. To date, the associations that operate in support of 118 continue to operate at the limits of legality.
The ASP of Cosenza, in September 2022, announced that it was working to stipulate the agreements awaiting the completion of the accreditation process by the Region. In the meantime, the associations have nevertheless guaranteed an essential service for citizens and avoided paralyzing the system.
They have taken to the streets several times, they have had numerous meetings with the Region and the commissioners of the ASP of Cosenza who have succeeded one another in recent years, but to date the promises have not been followed by concrete actions.
But why does the process continue to be at a standstill? The commitments made have not been kept despite the reassurances of recent months. The associations are awaiting responses from the ASP and, in particular, from the general director of the Provincial Health Authority of Cosenza Antonello Graziano, from the head of 118 Riccardo Borselli and from the coordinator of the Northern area of ​​the emergency emergency system Sergio Costarella. So what are they waiting for to call a new convention? The third sector associations that worked to support 118 in Cosenza announce a battle: they ask to be able to legally access the service but, from the ASP of Cosenza, the answers continue to fail to arrive. The emergency-urgency service throughout the province of Cosenza risks blocking.

Giuseppe Mazzuca
President of the Cosenza city council