ROME, 9 FEBRUARY - 14 million Italians without family doctor (by Manuela Correra) (ANSA) - ROME, FEBRUARY 9 - It is an alarming scenario that will emerge over the next 5 years for Italians and their health: as a result of retirements, in fact, 45,000 doctors will cease to work, of which 30,000 in hospitals and 14,908 family doctors. A 'haemorrhage which, in ten years or 2028, will involve 80,676 white coats. With a first serious effect: in 5 years 14 million Italians will be left without a general practitioner.
The SOS was launched by the Federation of General Practitioners (Fimmg) – with an elaboration of the most recent data for ANSA – and the union of executive doctors Anaao. An indictment of parties that "aspire to govern but do not deal with an issue of crucial importance for the life of citizens" also arrives from the organizations.
The data, the unions say, speak for themselves: in 2028 there will be no more 33,392 family doctors and 14,908 will retire between now and 2022. The 'black year', which will record the peak in outgoings, will be for family doctors 2022: 3,902 will retire in that year alone. Sicily, Lombardy, Campania and Lazio are the regions that will record the greatest non-performing loans in both the short and long term.
As for the doctors of the National Health Service, the situation does not look better: in the next 10 years 47,284 will be missing due to retirement. Furthermore, highlights the deputy secretary Anaao Carlo Palermo, "the current system of specialization schools in medicine will not guarantee a sufficient number of specialists for the near future: today, in fact, the places available for specialization schools are a total of about 6,500 l year, but according to our estimates at least 8,500 would be needed.
In the short term, paediatricians, surgeons, gynecologists and cardiologists will be missing in the wards. The biggest problem is that outgoings will not correspond to as many, or at least adequate, income: for general practitioners, in fact, the scholarships for the training course in general medicine made available today number around 1,100 a year and if the number will remain constant, says Fimmg, to be 'replaced', by 2028, there will be no more than 11,000 doctors, maintaining a negative balance at that date of over 22,000 units.
On the other hand, for the doctors of the NHS, Anaao notes, calculating how many new doctors could be hired in the face of the exits is very difficult: on the one hand, in fact, explains Palermo, "we do not know when the competitions will be banned by the regions and for which numbers, and on the other hand it should be remembered that in various regions the block on partial or total turnover is still in place ».
And the price of this situation, warns the Fimmg secretary Silvestro Scotti, will first and foremost be paid by the citizens: «Over the next 5-8 years, retirements will deprive 14 million Italians of the role of family doctor. It seems ridiculous - he underlines - that no political force that aspires to govern is committed to the issue of territorial assistance".
The shortage of doctors "affects all the Regions, with the paradox that if, and when, the competitions reopen, there will be a shortage of doctors to hire", warns the secretary Anaao Costantino Troise. Doctors "will be missing - he concludes - because they will have fled abroad, while for Italy the doors of the Balkan discount will open wide, where local doctors are anxiously waiting to move to our country in search of higher incomes".
Source ANSA
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