MILAN (ITALPRESS) – “With integrated home care, today we reach 45 thousand citizens over 65 directly in their homes, thanks to a network of family nurses, communities, which are daily distributed throughout the territory”. Massimo Nicolò, Councillor for Health of the Liguria Region, interviewed by Claudio Brachino for the Primo Piano section of the Italpress agency.
Regarding the community houses “in Liguria we have completed them all – continues – but not only from the point of view of the building, the requirements, we put in the doctors, the family doctors who are now present in a very persistent and lasting way and give a service”.
On the theme of the third age, Nicolò emphasizes how Liguria is a “land of longevity. We have an exceptional quality of life that allows you to live well in health and safety. We must consider longevity as an opportunity and therefore we have implemented a whole series of initiatives on active ageing. We must intervene early for health issues related to ageing, chronicity. Many older people have more than one pathology and this is a challenge for the regional health system we are facing at 360 degrees.”
A warm theme on the health front is that of waiting lists. The Councillor Nicolò provided a data: “We settled in November 2024 and only 40% of citizens with a request to book within 10 days managed to do so. Today this percentage is around 85-90%.” Then a promise: “I can say with reasonable certainty that the B priority class benefits, which are those to be resolved within 10 days, will come to zero them by the end of the term.”
On the front of the emergency room, Nicolò recalled the PS Tracker application, which allows you to follow step by step the path of those who are admitted in the outdoors, and the health professionals with the breastplate “Call to me” that guarantee a way with the family: “These two factors I think we have very loosened their apprehension.” The priority problem to be tackled is that of “boarding, the accumulation of patients in stretcher to emergency. We can no longer accept in 2026 that there are people who stay 10-14 hours in the corridors. This is the main theme we have to solve.”
The Liguria Region has launched the reform of health by shortening the five healthcare companies and establishing a single underground hospital company for the area of Genoa. “But we did not unify the services – explained Nicolò -. We did so to allow all citizens to receive the same treatment on the territory and reduce the inequality between those on the coast and those in the internal areas. We are in the midst of this epochal reform, challenging, necessary to make homogeneous performance throughout the territory.” The goal, the Councillor reiterated, is “reducing bureaucracy.”
Speaking of shortages of doctors, according to Nicolò the abolition of the number programmed in university faculties “will not solve the problem” because “in Italy we have 7 doctors every thousand inhabitants and we are in the European average” but “if we take away those who only do private, pensioners, family doctors who do not work in hospitals, we arrive at only 126 thousand who work in public hospitals. We must value work in public hospitals and improve intramoenia free-professional activity.”.
– Photo Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
