Confedir against the "Black Code": you don't choose who to treat. Facts, insights and controversies

The intensification of the number of infections also caused by the Omicron variant is bringing to mind the dark times of the first months of the coronavirus pandemic . The pressure on the hospitals has started to be asphyxiating again and the resources in the field seem not to be sufficient.

The alarm of the president of the order of doctors of Campania

The situation is very critical in Campania, so much so that there are those who have feared the risk of the maintenance of hospitals . The alarm was raised a few days ago by Bruno Zuccarelli , president of the Naples medical order. President Zuccarelli did not limit himself to expressing concern for the health of Campania, but he came to fear the risk of a " black code ". "The situation is worse than it seems – said President Zuccarelli -, in Campania we risk having to face a tragedy like the black code"

What is the Black Code

Zuccarelli's declarations were countered by the firm reaction of Confederation , the Confederation of trade unions of executive officers, managers and of the high professionalism of the public service , which, through the words of the national secretary Michele Poerio , distances itself from the utterances of President Zuccarelli the. “The Black Code was conceived and applied in its triage by Dr. LD Larey, a medical officer in the service of Napoleon – reads the Confedir note -. This colleague coined special codes for wounded soldiers on the battlefield (white, green, red etc.). With the fatal black code, the wounded "without hope" of survival were left in the field, with some slight care, but without transport or real help. Today we thought we had long ago eliminated the black code of Dr. Larey ”.

Confedir's indictment

Poerio continues in his note underlining how the words of Dr. Zuccarelli are "very serious statements contrary to both medical ethics and the substance and spirit of the Constitution ". Since the beginning of the pandemic, the specter of the "selection" of the sick to be treated has returned several times. "Today we treat everyone on the basis of the Constitution, the provisions of the law, fundamental human rights and even the most remote hypothesis of wanting to reintroduce a black code and any type of patient selection must be rejected – writes Dr. Poerio -. Not using a ventilator for lung care for a Covid-19 patient with little chance of survival for the benefit of another patient in full battle for life practically reinstates the black code ".

The guidelines of the anesthesiologists: "Decide who to attach to the ventilator and who not"

Shortly before the first lockdown in March 2020 , when Lombard healthcare was already on its knees due to the pandemic, SIAARTI (Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care) published guidelines , recommendations of clinical ethics according to such as if there are more patients for a respirator, it is necessary to favor those who are younger or in any case do not have major pathologies. “This is a technical document – said Dr. Flavia Petrini , president of Siaarti, in an interview with Repubblica -, intended for professionals and on which there would be no need for a public debate. The cases are discussed individually , making the relatives of the persons concerned aware of what is intended to be done. We drafted it because there are desperate conditions in Lombardia, and the professionals need not to be left alone in the face of difficult choices. Already today they have to decide who to attach to the fan and who not ”.

Confedir's opposition, together with FEDER.S.PeV. to the SIAARTI guidelines

Confedir , together with FEDER.S.PeV. (National Federation of Pensioners and Widows), bitterly opposed the positions of SIAARTI. "We of CONFEDIR and FEDER.S.PeV. we fought hard, managing to get rid of the draft of the Pandemic Plan 2021-2023, drawn up by the Ministry of Health – the note reads -, the sentence “… when scarcity makes resources insufficient compared to necessity, then the principles of ethics (sic! ed) can allow to allocate scarce resources in order to favor the necessary treatments preferably to those patients who are more likely to benefit from them. Our opposition has therefore blocked this evident violation of the Hippocratic oath and of the constitutional principles in this regard ".

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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/covid-tutte-le-polemiche-sul-codice-nero/ on Wed, 12 Jan 2022 10:52:49 +0000.