(Finance) – To address the shortage of family doctors, from today the medical guards who also have the role of family doctor – about seven thousand in total – until 2026 will be able to take care of up to a thousand patients, compared to the current 850. This is what one expects amendment to the Dl Entities, which sees Marta Schifone (FdI) as the first signatory, definitively approved today in the Senate. A measure which, according to estimates, will guarantee basic assistance to 1,500,000 more citizens.
“In the context of serious shortages of professionals that afflicts many areas of the country, an emergency measure like this – he says Tommasa Maio, national secretary of Fimmg Continuity of Care – is very important to contain the damages of lack of planning. Now publication in the Gazette is awaited”. In the context of serious shortages of professionals that afflict many areas of the country, for Fimmg an emergency measure like this is very important to contain the damages of the lack of programming. “Above all – he continues But I – when compared to the inertia of the Regions which on the one hand complain of shortages of doctors and on the other continue to cause delays in the publication of calls for tenders for the training of new recruits in general medicine”. A delay that prevents the Ministry from providing notice national level and, therefore, fix the date of the competition which would lead to strengthening an increasingly widespread and effective assistance on the territory immediately after passing the competition.
Also satisfied general secretary of Cittadinanzattiva Anna Lisa Mandorino, who defines today’s news as “good news, because it will make it possible to prevent millions of citizens from being left without a family doctor”.
But the Entities decree also provides for other health measures: the duration of the technical-scientific commissions and prices and reimbursements of the Italian Medicines Agency has been extended until October 1, pending the reform of the institution; green light for the participation of trainees in competitions for access to public management of the health role; the sanctions for those who have not complied with the vaccination obligation against Covid have been suspended until 30 June 2024. And again: with regard to the payback for medical devices, the deadline for the payment of the reduced contribution by pharmaceutical companies has been extended to 31 July 2023 and measures have been envisaged for the stabilization of precarious workers in the Irccs and experimental zooprophylactic institutes.
But the central theme remains there shortage of health personnel. Especially the nurses. For this the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, responding to question time in the House, announced the use of extraordinary recruitment measures. “Pending the completion of the training by health professionals of the planned training course, with particular regard to nurses, I reiterate – explained Schillaci – that initiatives are underway aimed at attracting professionals from other countries with training similar to that of the staff Furthermore, a specific funding of the Pnrr of 101 million is foreseen for scholarships for training in general medicine which, therefore, will be additional to the scholarships provided with ordinary resources “.