LETTER from Natalia Conestà, biologist and member of Demos, to the governor Acquaroli. Among the proposals, strengthen the Usca and reassure patients with a targeted media campaign
Natalia Conestà
–
“What is missing is prevention, a control room that knows public health and patient awareness”. Natalia Conestà, provincial coordinator and regional representative of Solidarity Democracy and member of the national assembly of Demos, complains about this lack in the new administration of the Region and writes a letter to the governor Francesco Acquaroli, above all to offer five points to be implemented quickly: “reinforce le Usca and document how they work, provide clear information through behavioral guidelines, reassure patients with a targeted media campaign and make home visits and provide constant e-medicine support ».
Francesco Acquaroli
–
«Like Demos Marche – writes Conestà addressing Acquaroli – we cannot fail to grasp his desire to remain close to the citizens of the Marche in this period of the second wave of Covid-19. Just as we cannot fail to acknowledge the willingness to listen to the leaders of the health of the Marche region and all the medical and non-medical personnel on the front line. However, the “hospital” approach continues in our healthcare system and not the preventive one, which we are talking about, but remains only in words. We are not talking so much here about prevention in the sense of curbing the transmission of infection, for which we are already working. Prevention continues with the “home” approach. In fact, it is these hours that the complaints of those who have resorted to the hospital to remain under observation, complain of being in containers in the Macerata hospital and of how much this is not dignified. Of course it is not dignified but it is to avoid contagion inside the hospital where other patients are hospitalized, and this must be explained, as it is an emergency solution. It would be much more dignified, however, if patients could stay at home under the observation of the general practitioner through the USST (Special Territorial Surveillance Units) in close coordination with the USCA (Healthcare Continuity Units) ».
The entrance to the Covid center of Civitanova
–
After this premise, the biologist specialized in public health with thirty years of international experience with the World Health Organization, the National Institute of Health, NGOs (including Save The Children and Doctors Without Borders), enters into the merits and delves into the gaps observed by her. «There is no control room that knows public health and there is no awareness of patients who, for fear of sudden changes in their health, ask to be admitted to the hospital. Hence the flooding of many hospitals. We said that the Fair-Covid was not decisive last spring, to those who thought of freeing themselves from Covid in the corridors of hospitals (not only therefore for the location contrary to national health standards and WHO as it would be adjacent to a hospital) – he continues -. We are now faced with reflections such as: “a module is missing for those in therapy who need to be monitored … but spending this time in a container is an offense to the dignity of the person” or “the Covid Center is for patients in intensive or semi-intensive care “. Thanks, we had foreseen it, just as we had foreseen that disobedience to the most normal rules of prevention and the instigation to not follow the rules by some, would be harmful to our freedom (not the mask) and to our economy “.
Natalia Conestà in Civitanova, former candidate for the Demos Regional Council
–
Natalia Conestà comes to the proposals offered to Acquaroli. “We are not writing to remind you of this (since you are an intelligent person and you know it very well), but to ask you to intervene immediately as follows: strengthen the Usca (number of doctors available trained and equipment for monitoring patients at home), document how the Usca work to reassure patients, give clear information through behavior guidelines and who to contact, media campaign aimed at reassuring patients by asking to stay at home and constant e-medicine support and home visits – reads the letter -. If during the summer what our appeal last May asked for had been done, that is, a public health center that should have dealt with the above points, and if the Asur leaders had deigned to receive us and respond to the letter attached, we would be more prepared. It hurts us, because knowing what can be done we don’t do it and we are always looking at who is this or that side – Natalia Conestà starts towards the conclusion -. The writer is on the side of the health of citizens and all people of good will as, as far as I have known, I believe you are, Mr. President and some of your collaborators. Unfortunately, the hospital approach has always been more profitable than the preventive approach, in the short term and for some categories of healthcare professionals, sorry to say, but in the long term the preventive approach pays off with good implications for people and the economy. Precisely for this reason such a “switch” requires a new approach that can only be done by personnel accustomed to working in public health, understood as a model: health is not just hospital and health is not just health. It is not for nothing that Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, regions more open to innovation, have managed the pandemic better. So let’s not be surprised if Covid is more under control in some countries than in Italy ».
–
