Waiting lists: one year for chest CT and almost two for colonoscopy

In addition to the major issue of access to services citizens complain of shortcomings in proximity care (reported as problematic in 17.9% of cases). Citizens denounce, in particular, the relationship with family doctors and paediatricians of free choice (58.7%), difficulties in accessing RSAs and long-term care (10%), as well as obstacle paths for mental health (9.8%), home care (7.8%) and hospital-territory connection (4.8%).

In hospital care (11.8% of total reports), the emergency-emergency and emergency room sector represents the main criticality (78.1%), followed by admissions (17.6%) and discharges (4.2%). With regard to social security assistance (5.7% of total cases), most reports concern invalidity and accompaniment procedures (92%), and citizens complain of long delays, bureaucratic complexities and increased demand.

Despite a decrease in the number of reports compared to previous years, the issue of quality of care remains central, in particular the issue of safety of care (4.8% of total reports), with the main reports concerning alleged medical errors (69.1%), obsolete machinery (15.7%), sanitary conditions (8.8%) and risk of infection (6.4%).

There are also fewer reports on prevention (2.3% of the total), where the greatest inconveniences concern ordinary vaccinations (35.8%), mammography screening (25.8%), anti-covirus vaccinations (16.8%), cervical screening (13.4%) and colorectal screening (8.2%). Finally, on the subject of tickets and private expenditure (2.3% of the total), citizens report high financial burdens for necessary private services (74.5%) and tickets considered too high (25.5%).

The Report on Chronicity Policies 2025 highlights the main difficulties for chronic and rare patients: to the multiple-choice question on the most critical issues, 83.6% of patients report excessive waiting times, while more than 55% state that they have foregone at least one visit or examination in the last 12 months due to unavailability of the service in the NHS. 85.9% have incurred out-of-pocket expenses, often for drugs, supplements and specialist visits. In many cases, taking care of chronic conditions becomes unsustainable for those living in fragile economic conditions.

"Our National Health Service remains the most effective antidote for overcoming inequalities and guaranteeing health for all and everyone," emphasises Anna Lisa Mandorino, secretary general of Cittadinanzattiva. We want to put health and the construction of public health at the centre of a debate in which citizens are the protagonists, with their rights and responsibilities; we want to counteract resignation or the risk of a self-fulfilling prophecy - that the illness of the National Health Service is so serious that letting it die makes no difference - with the power of autonomous initiative that article 118 of the Constitution recognises, and to promote a season of debate with and among citizens, from which to propose a civic agenda on health and the National Health Service".

These are the priorities indicated by Cittadinanzattiva:

- adopt a new National Health Plan, absent since 2008;

- guarantee the 2017 LEAs in a uniform manner throughout the territory and provide for their constant revision;

- speed up the implementation of Ministerial Decree 77, with particular reference to the construction of community houses and hospitals;

- make the legislation on waiting lists fully operational, with particular regard to the governance of agendas, aspects of transparency and monitoring of data and uniformity of procedures across the territory;

- investing in digital infrastructure and data interconnection and enhancing the relevant skills of citizens and professionals;

- investing in the health personnel, not only in terms of resource units but also in terms of training and incentives for certain categories, such as emergency-urgency;

- Strengthening prevention, from the health literacy of citizens to the offer and adherence to screening and vaccination campaigns.