The strengthening of Territorial Assistance financed with European money is proceeding in slow motion. Community homes, home care and new clinics to ease the pressure on hospitals are far from the planned objectives
In the hospital only the most serious cases, for all the rest a dense network of centers where you can undergo an examination, speak to a doctor, be treated by a nurse. But also care at home, especially for the elderly, with home visits or at a distance with information technology.
7.5 billion for Territorial Assistance
All of this is what is called territorial assistance and which our country (especially after the critical issues that emerged with the pandemic) has decided to strengthen by allocating 7.5 billion of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. But the project, presented a year ago as a real revolution for the health of Italians and to be completed by June 2026, is traveling slowly and the resources provided could be insufficient.
Community houses, none active in 15 Regions
The community houses, for example. Less than 9 percent were active at the end of 2022 and none of these structures are operational in fifteen Regions, where it should be possible to find a doctor or have an ultrasound 24 hours a day.
New hospitals at stake
A similar situation, explains the document presented to the Senate by Agenas (National Agency for Regional Health Services), for community hospitals: less than 11 percent of these centers are active, which should guarantee 20 beds for every 100,000 inhabitants.
Long process, distant goals
In short, the objective of reducing the emergency rooms, the wards for the most needy patients and eliminating waiting lists seems distant, above all due to cumbersome procedures which slow down the use of available money. Funds which, moreover, may not be enough, due to the increase in costs and the emergence of new interventions.
Doubts about resources
Doubts also expressed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, which warns that after 2026, when the new health model should become a reality, over one billion a year will be needed to manage these treatments and pay doctors and nurses.
Source-tg24.sky.it