Let’s take inspiration from recently published letter where a reader reported unacceptable waiting times to access a hospital service. The art. 32 of the Constitution states that “The Republic protects health as a fundamental right of the individual and interest of the community”, but every day citizens clash with a health “system” that does not respect the right that should be guaranteed by the constitutional principle, by the law 833/1978 establishing the National Health Service as well as by a multiplicity of subsequent laws, both national and regional, which are systematically violated.
Precisely to assert citizens’ rights of access to healthcare and report violations of current laws, “health help desks” like the one we have been managing for a few months in Legnano have been created and are spreading in Lombardy and many other Italian regions. part of the Lombard Coordination of health offices. The violations we have found from the stories of the people who have turned to the desk in recent months concern various aspects:
– waiting time, which must comply with what is indicated in the medical prescription (for visits and exams: from 3 days to a maximum of 120 days – for surgical interventions: from 30 days to a maximum of 12 months).
– principle of proximity and accessibility of the place where the service is provided, which must in any case be within the ATS
– taking charge of the patient by the hospital specialist, who must book tests and subsequent visits without referring the patient to the CUP or even to their general practitioner
– guarantee that the services prescribed by the hospital doctor are provided within the facility.
These failures not only do not guarantee adequate care for patients, with further damage to their state of health, but they are distancing many citizens from the care itself (we are talking about 4.5 million Italians who give up treatment due to economic problems, waiting lists or access difficulties) or forcing them to turn to paid healthcare. In this way, health is transformed from a collective right and interest into a commodity among many, accessible to those who can afford it and a source of large profits for insurance companies, finance companies and large private healthcare groups that drain resources from the public budget and pockets. of citizens. Countering this trend is possible if people do not give up on asserting their rights but take action by demanding universal, high-quality public healthcare at the same time, which is the final objective of the appeals that are forwarded to the ASST through the “health desks”. ” when violations of the rules relating to the provision of healthcare services are found.
On the site www.sportellisalute.lo.it The “health centers” currently active in Lombardy are listed, which citizens can contact.
Legnano health desk
