Manoeuvre, Schillaci: possible amendments on doctors' allowances and payback. 'Strike with low adherence, just over 1 per cent'

"I respect the demonstrations, but it must be remembered that the health workforce is at the centre of the government's activities. We have increased doctors' and emergency room allowances and taxed interventions to shorten waiting lists at 15 per cent. There are amendment proposals to increase the specificity allowance and defiscalise this item. It is an important topic that we have taken to heart'. This was said by Health Minister Orazio Schillaci at the Sole 24 Ore Healthcare Summit underway in Rome. "We have met with the companies," he added, "and there are emndamentive proposals in Parliament to reduce the impact of the redetermination of the allowance between industry and distribution.

The minister also spoke on the medical device payback 'a wrong norm that we inherited'. "Last year," he said, "we invested 1 billion and we are in tune with the smaller and national companies that suffer from this measure and we will try to limit the damage of this rule in the future.

"The numbers published on the website of the Civil Service Department indicate a low adhesion, slightly above 1%, to yesterday's strike proclaimed by some unions. This is a far cry from the percentage declared by the organisations and, moreover, is in line with that of the strike called last year, by the same unions, which stopped at an adhesion of 3%. Doctors and nurses are aware of the work we are doing, despite the many difficulties, and my thanks go to them for the professionalism and self-sacrifice with which they devote themselves to caring for citizens. We will continue to do everything possible to repay this commitment,' he said. Thus the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci.

"The implementing decrees on waiting lists are at an advanced stage of processing, some of which have already been sent to the regions," he said. This was said by Health Minister Orazio Schillaci during the Sole 24 Ore Healthcare Summit underway in Rome. "Those who criticise the measure by saying that there are no funds," he added, "do not remember that there was not even a tool to know which sectors were suffering, while from February the platform for continuous monitoring will start and citizens will know the true times of performance. For Schillaci, the reduction of lists 'is a team game, the Cups must be unique, even for the accredited private sector, and the citizen must not pay one euro more than he is due'. "I have written a letter to the president of the Regions Fedriga," he said, "because the problem is also organisational and the Court of Auditors itself has said that the resources have been badly spent. Finally, Schillaci said that the desirable limit between healthcare spending and GDP "is 7 per cent, but this figure is influenced by economic trends".