“There has never been such a thorough determination and regulation of everything that can be done to reduce waiting lists. This will definitely end because with the national platform created by Agenas (National Agency for Regional Health Services), soon to be active, we will know place by place, zone by zone, procedure by procedure, what the situation is.” With these words, the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci commented to Il Messaggero on the final approval, yesterday in the Chamber, of the waiting list decree, which in the government’s hopes should shorten the significant delays that characterize access to public healthcare. This is a healthcare and social phenomenon analyzed today by Il Sole 24 Ore, which depends on the difficulties of Local Health Authorities and regions in meeting the maximum time limits set for different priority classes for services to be provided.
The newspaper’s investigation – based on monitoring by Cittadinanzattiva and the Welfare & Health Observatory for Il Sole 24 Ore – frames the phenomenon with updated numbers: in the Friuli Centrale university hospital, an average of 498 days are needed for an abdominal ultrasound and 394 days for a gynecological visit, while it takes 427 days for a cardiology visit in the Asl 3 Ligure. The difficulties extend from north to south. Among the most critical situations is Valle d’Aosta: here, the 10-day deadline for cardiology visits, chest CT scans, and abdominal ultrasounds is never met, and only 10% of reservations for ophthalmic visits are met. But among the worst performances is also Asl Napoli 1, which meets the deadlines for non-urgent ophthalmic visits (within 30 days) in only 13.6% of cases.
The problems also concern the vertici of reservations: only 13 regions have activated a single Cup with a single telephone number that citizens can call to make an appointment. Fewer regions have unified the agendas of both public and private accredited hospitals on a single platform.
The result is an increasingly frequent recourse to private healthcare: while 60.6% of services remain in the public or accredited private sector, nearly 35% of users turn to paid healthcare, including pure private and intramoenia services. This figure reaches 40.7% in the south and islands, compared to 26.5% in the northeast. But for many, facing paid healthcare is prohibitive, so 42% of people with incomes up to 15,000 euros postpone or forgo treatment.
In addition to the above-mentioned Agenas platform, the decree approved yesterday in the Chamber aims to activate single, or integrated, Cups to unify the agendas of the care offer of accredited private hospitals. There is also a “skip the line” mechanism: if the hospital is unable to provide the service within a reasonable time, the Local Health Authority will have to cover the costs of the same service in the private sector, and the patient will only pay the coupon or intramoenia fee. Diagnostic and specialist visits will also be possible on Saturdays and Sundays, with an extended time slot for the provision of these services.
The measure has received many criticisms from the opposition, and there are still many doubts about its effectiveness. “We need the collaboration of everyone, the government, the regions, healthcare workers, and general managers. And also from citizens – as Minister Schillaci said – who are called to be more responsible because often patients make an appointment for a healthcare service and then, if they no longer need it, forget to cancel it.” The minister also announced that he will meet with the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti in the coming days to address the issue of increasing funding for healthcare. “We are aware that there is still much to be done, but we are convinced that the direction taken to build a more efficient and closer healthcare system to the needs of citizens is the right one,” commented Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
In conclusion, the government’s efforts to tackle the issue of waiting lists in the healthcare system are commendable. With the implementation of the Agenas platform and the activation of single Cups, there is hope for a more efficient and transparent system. It is also encouraging to see measures being taken to address the issue of unequal access to healthcare, as seen in the disproportionate use of private healthcare by those with lower incomes. With the collaboration of all parties involved, including citizens, we can strive