Because between the Regions and the government there are tensions over health funds
According to the Regions, the resources foreseen by the budget law for 2022 to finance the National Health Service are not "adequate". Here are how many funds are missing, the letter sent to the government and the proposals to address the shortage of staff
4 billion and more are missing for healthcare. It is estimated by the Regions, which are now demanding responses and interventions from the government. The cause would be the extra costs related to the Covid emergency, such as the extra costs for personnel, vaccination campaigns, reagents and tampons.
The situation in which the Italian health system finds itself was described by the regional health councilors through a letter sent by Raffaele Donini, councilor of Emilia-Romagna who coordinates the colleagues in the Health Commission of the conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, to President Massimiliano Fedriga. and to Davide Caparini, coordinator of the Financial Affairs Commission.
THE LETTER
"We knew that after two and a half years of pandemic, with an enormous expenditure of financial and human resources borne by the Regions and at least 15 years of insufficient planning and cuts by the State, in terms of staffing, we would have faced important critical issues ”, Writes Donini.
In addition to the emergency linked to the lack of funds and personnel, the “critical issues” linked to the “higher energy, inflation and contractual costs that will weigh considerably on health budgets” are also included.
The resources provided by the budget law for 2022 to finance the National Health Service (NHS), as reported in the letter, are not "adequate" to guarantee "sustainability of health planning" for the continuation of pandemic management measures and for the major emerging costs.
For this, according to the councilors, "an additional funding of at least 4 billion" is needed for this year – 4.6 to be precise. To which is added the request to suspend repayment plans and commissioners for the 2021 deficits.
As Quotidiano Sanità recalls, the Regions have already put 3.8 billion out of their pockets which were destined for other purposes. And if the funds are not found for this year, the invitation is to think of a regulatory intervention aimed at adopting an amortization plan in a period between ten and twenty subsequent years.
WHAT THE 4.6 BILLION IS USED FOR
According to what reported by Il Sole 24 Ore , the more than 4 billion requested by the Regions would serve to cover "the expenses for staff employed in hospitals and in the vaccination campaign which accounts for about 30% and which will probably continue also next autumn but also for a another 50% for the purchase of health services from doctors, Usca (for example to make vaccines and tampons) and from private outpatient facilities to recover waiting lists and finally the remaining 20% for the purchase of health goods as reagents , tampons, masks, overalls did not arrive in sufficient quantities from the Government ".
HEALTH STAFF EMERGENCY
The letter then once again underlines the main problem encountered by hospitals and emergency rooms (which Start had talked about here ): the lack of staff.
Regions and autonomous provinces, in fact, say they are "concerned about the critical issues concerning the need for staff, employees and agreements" of the National Health Service.
“The unavailability of an adequate number of health workers, starting with doctors and nurses represents a criticality that requires immediate intervention and which, in perspective, presupposes a real reform of the sector”, wrote Donini.
THE PROPOSALS
In this regard, Donini proposed to abolish the limited number in Medicine, "or at least calibrate an adequate program of training for new doctors".
In addition, the coordinator asks that “invest, as has been done in the last two years, in specialist grants for family doctors and in reducing the training funnel of young doctors for their specialization. We will also support this investment with our financial resources ”.
"The assistance network of family nurses is progressively financed, as foreseen by the Ministerial Decree 71 just approved by the Government" and "the ceiling on the hiring limit of employees is removed".
And, finally, Donini concludes, “the Healthcare Expenditure should be brought to the level of the average of European countries with respect to GDP. We are at 6.5% against a much higher European average. Only in 2020 did we approach it. They are choices, we trust that citizens' health will be chosen ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/perche-fra-regioni-e-governo-ci-sono-tensioni-sui-fondi-per-la-sanita/ on Fri, 20 May 2022 10:27:16 +0000.