Watchdog groups warn that the current lack of resources is putting Italy’s healthcare system at risk, with approximately 4.3 million citizens reportedly forgoing medical treatment due to long waiting lists. In some cases, patients are waiting up to 715 days for an ultrasound appointment. Center-left Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein criticized the government for failing to fulfill its promises, calling the situation a result of “dangerous disinvestment” and “creeping privatization” in public healthcare.
“The welfare state is in a severe crisis,” warned Pierino Di Silverio, a surgeon from Naples and national secretary of the medical union Anaao. “The healthcare system is a cornerstone of our social model, but it’s being progressively defunded.”
The founding goal of Italy’s National Health Fund—universal healthcare coverage financed through general taxation—has come under increasing strain. Italy’s rapidly aging population, where nearly a quarter of Italians are over 64 years old, has led to rising demand for medical services. Unfortunately, the tax revenues needed to sustain the system have not kept pace with this escalating demand.
Meanwhile, the share of healthcare services provided by the private sector has steadily grown over the past decade and now accounts for roughly a quarter of all health spending in the country. This expansion of the private sector has siphoned off resources and, crucially, medical staff from the public system. Di Silverio noted that state system workers are leaving at a rate of 14 per day, either to join private facilities or to work abroad.
Health Minister Orazio Schillaci had previously pledged an additional €3.7 billion for healthcare in the country’s upcoming budget, but critics argue this is not enough to address the systemic issues. The unequal allocation of healthcare funding across the country further deepens the division between Italy’s wealthier north and less affluent south.
Di Silverio emphasized that emergency departments are among the hardest hit. In some cases, they are so underfunded that doctors are responsible for as many as 100 patients each, leaving patients waiting days in the emergency room for care. One healthcare worker at a major hospital in northern Rome, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the press, recounted how some patients have only a chair to sit on while waiting for treatment. This situation often frustrates relatives, leading to assaults on overworked doctors and nurses, further exacerbating staff shortages. “Nobody wants to work in emergency medicine anymore,” she concluded.
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