“Yet another cry for help from Sicilians in the deafening silence of regional and national institutions”.
It’s the comment of Michele Catanzaro, Group Leader of the Ars of the Democratic Party, dfacing the legitimate concerns of the mountain communities of an area in the Agrigento hinterland, where the poor infrastructural situation endangers their right to health.
The Municipality of Cianciana, together with the Municipalities of Alessandria della Rocca, Bivona, San Biagio Platani and Santo Stefano Quisquina, apthey start from the same health district. Unfortunately, the poor road connection with the capital and with the important cities of the Agrigento province make the management of the many problems of the territory very complex which should be worthy of greater attention.
“These municipalities – says Catanzaro – due to the distance from the important hospitals of the province, have to rely every day on a health district that has been established over the years. Health personnel are now reduced to a minimum and the population remains deprived of essential assistance rights. There are fewer and fewer specialists at the clinic or clinics and visits are often destined for interminable waiting lists, in defiance of the slogans spread in recent days by the central government. People are therefore forced to resort to private specialists, with huge costs and enormous road difficulties due to the lack of public transport and the dilapidation of the roads”.
“Citizens and mayors have been complaining about this uncomfortable situation for years – adds Catanzaro – but the regional government does not listen to them and has never adopted initiatives aimed at facilitating the use of health services. The right to health has no political affiliation, it is neither right-wing nor left-wing, it cannot just be the subject of election campaign speeches as has been happening in recent weeks. The right to health – concludes Catanzaro – must be protected and cultivated every day and whoever governs, in Palermo and Rome, is responsible for the disaster that exists in Sicily today”.
