The poisoned tail

Fortunately, Covid is passing but the "tail" it leaves is poisoned and is a mixture of other pandemics: the devastated "emergency rooms", the shortage of doctors, the cancer that exploded because it was not discovered in time in the years of lockdowns, scarce medicines, local medicine, still very often a river of words despite thousands of visits from family doctors.

The "pronto" are all in trouble: the waits are long, exhausting, incredible, despite the passion and mission of the doctors and nurses. But arriving at 8 and passing, at best, after 14 is the custom. There is a lack of doctors and nurses who also repeat shifts to make it through, but that's not enough. And it will certainly not be the "token holders" who will remedy the situation. It will be necessary to pay health workers better and protect them from increasingly violent physical and judicial attacks. Of course, the ever-tightening number of enrollments in medical school is not the way.

Waiting lists are not worthy of a civilized country. I booked a prevention exam these days, I will pass in November 2023 (sic!). And what about the tests to stem the various forms of cancer? We are months behind and in the meantime the deaths from cancer are increasing. Some chiefs argue that the real pandemic now is cancer. I don't think so, but the situation is certainly serious. And let's not talk about the interventions: urgent ones are carried out with great sacrifices. The others "are yet to come" because even the private structures are clogged.

Thus, many experts argue, beyond the slogans and proposals that border on the surreal, the reorganization of the health system continues to be a theme that is not seriously addressed on the national political agenda, nor on that of the various regions, leaving citizens in the dark about how to get out of the current deep crisis and what the future of tomorrow's national health will be.

Emergency-urgency needs trained and certified health professionals, to guarantee citizens the best services, with the utmost professional competence and prompt execution of treatment pathways. Today, the quality of emergency health services is entrusted entirely to the spirit of sacrifice of the operators: those who choose the specialty are asked to be ready for very heavy shifts, up to retirement age, to have at least two to three weeks end per month, of not being able to carry out the free profession, with much less attractive salaries than all the other specialists. All this without the recognition of a disadvantaged activity and with the hope of not being attacked while carrying out their work (emergency room operators are certainly the most at risk).

Medicines? We are in short supply of at least ten for adults and children. What happened? In the favelas I have seen even expired specialties distributed, but we are not in the suburbs of Rio De Janeiro.

Health care at risk of bankruptcy. The Regions wrote it to the minister. There could be catastrophic consequences.

Lonely elderly. 64% of hospital stays last because the elderly do not know where to go: no one at home, RSA too expensive, loneliness. There was a perfect storm, the rubble remains.


Gian Mario Ricciardi
NP February 2023