«530 new doctors ready, this is how we defend healthcare»

There are 530 young doctors and dentists who will meet today at 10am at the Sala Newton in Città della Scienza for the Hippocratic Oath. «A moment that will mark the professional history of these young people who, with enthusiasm, professionalism and great critical ability, are and will be the future of the healthcare system. Kids who will have to face great challenges and make important decisions.” Thus the president of the Medical Association of Naples and its province Bruno Zuccarelli interviewed on the Mattino web TV by the chief reporter Gerardo Ausiello. Among others, the President of the Region Vincenzo De Luca and the Mayor Gaetano Manfredi will be present at the Oath.

INSIGHTS

President Zuccarelli, what meaning does the Hippocratic oath have today?
«From the 5th century BC until now it has accompanied the doctor in the practice of his profession. Hippocrates remains a more relevant beacon than ever in this moment of disvalues ​​in which people seem to no longer believe in anything. The doctor must instead be nourished by passion and his work must always be a mission despite complex and often even regressive and hostile contexts. Hippocrates therefore remains a reference of ethics and of the highest deontology”.

The doctor-patient relationship is today called into question by an alarming trend: from being the hero of the pandemic it is becoming the enemy.
«Doctors always take care of patients but citizens must understand the difficult context in which they operate and respond with equal care. Crowding, structural and staff shortages are beyond our control. In this mutual recognition I see the rediscovery of a more symmetrical doctor-patient relationship than in the past.”

Are police squads, together with other organizational interventions, an adequate response?
«At Vecchio Pellegrini, a real frontier, attacks have decreased by 30%. After last April’s decree on criminal proceedings without complaint, the general director must intervene autonomously and after the recent decree on deferred flagrant arrest there are legislative instruments for further protection. Repression is not the only response but delinquent attitudes must be responded to harshly.”

The issue of staff shortages also affects the choice of specialization schools. How to deal with escape from emergency rooms?
«75% of the specialization calls for emergency medicine were deserted. Doctors no longer believe in some disciplines but even the areas lacking in general practitioners and pediatricians are difficult to assign and we are witnessing a flight towards the private sector and abroad where the quality of work and remuneration are the determining factors. difference. We lose young people in whom we have invested in training. The responsibility lies with the politics of the last 15 years. Healthcare is no longer a priority.”

There is also a reversal in the trend of those returning from abroad to come and work here: a sign of hope.
«There are those who believe in this land. We will tell the young people this morning at the Hippocratic Oath. In Naples we had saints like Moscati, Cardarelli, first president of the Order, Monaldi, first minister of Health and then Cotugno, senator Pascale. Great doctors for a great tradition of Neapolitan medicine that young people feel in their hearts but which must be defended and protected.”

The restricted number in Medicine: is it for or against?
«The programmed number was used to counteract the medical plethora. It is still needed for correct programming. The tests were unacceptable as they were conceived but the selection in the first semester exams risks introducing discretionary criteria. Further adjustments and correct planning are needed.”

A head teacher from Caivano, regarding the escape from the classrooms, spoke of false medical certificates. She defended the category.
“There may be lame ducks but specific cases must be reported to the competent bodies: we must not generalize.”

What is your opinion on autonomy reform?
«I have nothing against it but the Lep, the essential levels of performance, must be financed and staff shortages must be filled by equalizing the distribution of funds to the per capita share between the regions. The Campania population has a lower life expectancy but also less money to spend on health just because younger people live here than in the North. If we also differentiate salaries we will have a South-North flow not only of patients but also of doctors.”