Family doctors, paediatricians also against reform: 'Children are being penalised'
The decree is expected in the Cdm at the end of the month, but there is still the knot to unravel on the dependency of doctors with the SSN. The unions are on the warpath and even the Fimp is taking the field
Key points
Paediatricians in agitation. The reasons are set out in black and white in an open letter from the Italian Federation of Paediatricians (Fimp). The problem is the reform wanted by the Health Minister Orazio Schillaci on territorial healthcare that - according to the union - risks raising a wall against families.
A new episode that follows that of the talk table between the government, the regions and the unions on 12 May. The white coats of the youngest are therefore lashing out against the dependency model presented in the draft decree, as it would not guarantee a care model based on the choices made by the doctor, making them dependent on the National Health Service (NHS).
Black smoke on reform, now the turn of paediatricians
With the decree-law still in the pipeline awaiting the meeting of the Council of Ministers scheduled for the end of the month, this time expressing their views on the family doctor reform are the paediatricians, entrusting an open letter with their considerations on the case.
The Fimp rails against the tightening of the autonomy of the profession expressed in the draft: less choice and more doctors dependent on the SSN. For the union, it would be families and their children who would lose out because - as indicated in the federation's letter - the relationship of "trust, continuity and proximity" with parents would be cancelled. And it is precisely the concept of trust that paediatricians are most pressing on, rejecting a model that for them puts children at a disadvantage.
What the draft says
The draft decree - which Il Sole 24 Ore was able to read - also calls paediatricians into question. Article 2, in fact, establishes that 'the employment relationship constitutes a residual and complementary channel, selective and planned, which can be activated by the Regions and Autonomous Provinces to cover vacant appointments not assigned through the conventional channel, structured territorial functions and unmet care needs'. The model, according to the Fimp, would create Series A and Series B children.
