Healthcare and the national health system are under pressure: the number of doctors abandoning public health is growing, creating a real emergency in the Italian hospital system. Over the course of 2021 and the following year, there was a significant jump in exits, reaching 2.870 in 2022. The numbers continue to grow. Resources, on the other hand, decrease: the case of the Latina hospital
The escape of the doctors: what is it due to?
There are many reasons why doctors leave their hospital jobs. One of the main factors is exhaustion due to exhausting work shifts and lack of career prospects. In the last ten years, with the reduction of 30.000 hospital beds, thousands of primary positions have been lost, further undermining the prospects for professional growth. To all this are also added salaries among the lowest in Europe, another element that contributes to their frustration.
Furthermore, doctors are demanding better working conditions. The data seems to show that, on average, approx 300 hours of unpaid or unpaid overtime. Trade unions are demanding that healthcare companies stop using career and performance funds to pay overtime. It's a paradoxical situation in which the doctors themselves end up funding their overtime.
According to the union representative of hospital doctors, about 5.000 of them asked about leaving the public service, some to go abroad, others to work in the private sector. Some are just looking for retirement. Overall, it is estimated that 10.000 doctors are ready to abandon lane work altogether or reduce their attendances.
The national secretary of Anaao (National Association of Hospital Aids and Assistants), Pierino di Silverio, reports alarming figures about this growing crisis. He says public health is on its last legs and immediate action is needed to avoid the disruption of the national health system. Strikes and mass resignations are not excluded.
A problem that requires immediate, large-scale action
Staff shortages and flight from public service make it difficult to replace staff during summer holidays. Hospital wards, especially those in emergency medicine, operating theaters and infectious diseases, will be particularly affected.
The phenomenon of doctors fleeing also reflects the preferences of young specialists. For example, dermatology and plastic surgery, higher-paying specialties in the private sector, have few open positions. On the other hand, specialties such as virology and microbiology have a high percentage of unallocated places, as they do not carry requests for private visits.
To address this crisis, the Ministry of Health and University is welcoming 3.000 aspiring doctors to medical schools. However, di Silverio stresses that less paying specializations need to be made more attractive for young doctors.
The national health system lacks funds: the case of Zero 48
The situation seems to show that the national health system is on the verge of collapse, not only due to the flight of doctors, but also due to a lack of resources. In fact, those who do not want to leave could be forced to abandon their projects.
To illustrate this problem is the case of zero 48. About two years ago, this innovative program was started at theIcot of Latina, which specifically targets cancer patients. It was devised by professor Iacopo Carbone, director of the "Advanced diagnostic imaging" department of the Pontine institute. The project was born from the need to provide support to cancer patients during the pandemic, when access to diagnostic procedures such as CAT scans and MRIs was limited. Professor Carbone contacted the local oncologists to understand the patients' needs in terms of monthly CAT scans and was able to dedicate an entire day a week to cancer patients. The project was launched in June 2021 and has seen growing demand, with 45 patients undergo CT every Friday.
However, the project runs into the problem of budget constraints, with the risk of exam reductions if not achieved economic support from the local health authority. It is now necessary to seek funding from individuals or also from the region, institutional support to ensure the continuity of the project and expand the offer of tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging, for cancer patients: «It started in it was Covid when hospitals were inaccessible for cancer patients. Today at Icot we do 180 Tacs a month, in order not to stop we need the support of the ASL» reiterates Carbone.
