The latest case was brought to light by a report from “Out of the choir” program broadcast on Rete4: Annamaria, a 90-year-old fellow citizen of ours, testifies to her experience.
The poor old woman suffers from heart problems, so she needs an urgent visit so that an evaluation for a blood pressure holter can be carried out. The request was presented at the CUP of Barletta, with an urgent visit within 60 days. The result? The first available date will only be in two years, in 2026. An unsustainable waiting time for an elderly woman who, as Annamaria herself states, could even die before carrying out the check.
It is a problem on the agenda: there are numerous requests for visits which, before being satisfied, will have to wait at least a year. Gynecological, ophthalmological and radiological visits; whatever the reason, there don’t appear to be any imminent bookings unless you have the chance to open your wallet and turn to private specialists. Yet, people like Mrs. Annamaria, who live only on the small monthly pension they receive, cannot afford to pay to continue living.
The matter was submitted to the director of the ASL, Tiziana Dimatteo, which declared that it had put in place every means to make up for the shortage of places.
A few days ago, after a journalistic report on a similar topic, the ASL had specified in a note that “the booking lists in the ASL Bt are not closed”. “Constant monitoring of the booking lists is carried out and when necessary other booking dates are guaranteed. Therefore the Cup counters and the company Call Center are fully operational”. This is the clarification of director Dimatteo. “We know very well the problems related to booking times because we have constant monitoring – adds the General Director – and above all we have deployed all the organizational forces to maximize the potential we have throughout the territory. During 2023 we have in fact, all healthcare services increased by 37.2 percentage points compared to 2019 while the number of surgical interventions increased by 26 percent. The data is also increasing in 2024. It is not enough and we continue to work to meet the needs of assistance. but we don’t have closed lists.”
How far is there still to go to make our healthcare system efficient and timely for everyone? Living cannot become a privilege of those who have money to be able to be treated, or simply to do prevention.
You can watch the full service here.
