Schillaci: 'With the platform we will better manage waiting lists, citizens report abuses'

The data show that there are still services for which you have to wait several hundred days in a facility. How do you intervene in these cases?

The ministry has a power of control and supervision, which we are exercising through constant dialogue with the regional presidents who, in various territories, are well aware of the urgent need for a change of pace at the organisational level. It is really unacceptable that denied services are recovered in a flash as soon as a camera appears. We do our part, but the most effective control is that of the facility directors.

In the past few days you have scolded the regions on waiting lists, urging them not to tweak or rig the data. Will there be a need in extreme cases to use the substitutive powers that are provided for by law, or can having the data today allow us to work together?

I am convinced that by working together we can make a breakthrough. Substitutive powers are an extreme solution provided for by law, but it is primarily in the interest of the regions to show their citizens that they are able to improve the efficiency of their services. This means that if a company does too much intramoenia, I expect the general director to intervene to enforce the law; if there are closed agendas - which are prohibited by law - the Region must intervene on the company

Citizens who pay for services in free practice are waiting a few days: should intramoenia be changed or should it be better controlled to avoid abuse and by whom?

The law is clear: intramoenia activity must not exceed that guaranteed by the National Health Service. And the law also says that the general managers of the companies must check that this rule is respected by also intervening with the suspension of intramoenia. The law gives elements to avoid abuses, these are tools that must be put in place if we want to give answers to citizens.

One of the most favourable rules for the citizen that you wanted is the possibility, in the event of a delay, for the Cup to have the service in the private intramoenia free of charge or paying only the co-payment. Is it applied? And can the citizen defend himself if he is refused this possibility?

Some regions have activated services to implement this rule, but it is still not enough. It is a citizen's right that must be guaranteed and the company must do it. It is not permissible for him to be refused. If this happens, it should be reported. And I assure you that we receive reports and we take them up immediately with the region concerned. We will soon start a communication campaign precisely to raise the awareness of every citizen about their rights.

The plan on waiting lists also foresaw some interventions such as the unification of regional Cups in order to have all the availabilities between public and private contracted. Where do the regions stand?

Some regions have already done this, others are doing it. It is a challenge that we must take home: the private contracted parties must make their contribution, it is not permissible for them to provide only the most advantageous services. In addition to this, it is also essential to train Cup personnel.

According to the plan, regions also have the possibility of opening clinics at weekends and in the evenings and paying doctors and nurses better overtime. Is this a possibility they are using and is it working?

In Piedmont it has been done and it has worked. In 2025, more than 250,000 out-of-hours visits were provided, as the Region reports, and they are working on a plan for 2026 as well. A model that I believe is replicable