Federbiologi Sicilia asked for Gennato’s resignation due to conflict of interest, and also mandated the law firm of the lawyer Paolo Starvaggi of Sant’Agata Militello, to challenge the guidelines that allow pharmacies to provide services pertaining to the laboratories that The Department of Health in Sicily has decided to implement.
This relates to the methods for providing the new services that are pertinent to the laboratory structures, services that these structures have been providing for decades to Sicilian citizens in full legality.
Federbiologi Sicilia’s intervention takes shape after the report aired on “Reporter” last June 24th and taken up by other newspapers, regarding the services that pharmacies can provide regarding clinical analyses, cardiology, physiatry and other tests .
“In the Reporter service – says Dr. Pietro Miraglia, biologist and president of Federbiologi Sicilia – which we appreciate for having turned the light on such delicate topics that concern the health of all citizens, we must underline the confusion that also exists at the ministerial. Minister Schillaci doesn’t even know that the clinical analysis reports are signed by a manager; Undersecretary Gemmato supports the possibility of pharmacies becoming sampling points for analysis laboratories”.
The biologist comes down hard: “We cannot accept these antics which will cause serious damage to the health of citizens. Pharmacies were created to provide relevant services such as the administration of drugs and over-the-counter products, as well as the preparation of galenic products. Clinical analyzes are performed by laboratories, which with specialized personnel – biologists, laboratory technicians and trained and certified paramedical staff – perform routine and high-profile clinical analyzes in certified laboratory facilities with the signature of a responsible biologist. The laboratory facilities comply with all the regulations to safely carry out the tests with internal and external quality controls and the three-year accreditation control”.
Miraglia confirms that the Federbiologists Union has given a mandate to the Starvaggi firm to challenge the guidelines that allow pharmacies to provide services pertaining to laboratories now dictated by the Health Department in Sicily. Furthermore, he announces that the Sicilian analysis laboratories are preparing, in a united manner, to demonstrate in Piazza Ottavio Ziino in Palermo, headquarters of the Health Department, spreading journalistic news in all directions.
Miraglia concludes: “The fact that Gemmato, pharmacist and owner of a pharmacy in Terlizzi, comes out with a similar proposal makes us think that he wanted to take off his role as undersecretary and put on the lab coat to promote shop interests that absolutely do not represent the solution to the problem of the waiting lists, but they only constitute a clear conflict of interest and for this reason we ask for his resignation”.
