Health, Lorenzin: "Lack of resources, heading towards creeping privatization"

Former Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin has sounded an alarm about the future of the National Health Service. In a statement, she asserted that, without further resources from the government, the system is heading toward "a creeping privatization." The main reason is the lack of investment to make medical and nursing professions attractive, leading to young people fleeing abroad and a progressive bleeding of staff.

Lorenzin emphasized that the problem is not just about salaries, but also the quality of life, working hours, and work-life balance. She described understaffed hospital wards, with tired and exhausted personnel, highlighting how the shortage of healthcare workers directly translates into longer waiting lists. The regions' request for over 6 billion euros per year has clashed with an allocation in the budget law of just over 3 billion, part of which is already earmarked for previously defined contracts.

The healthcare staffing crisis in Italy is a long-standing structural problem, linked to the low attractiveness of medical and nursing professions. Its origins lie in often difficult working conditions, including heavy shifts, salaries that are not always competitive compared to other European countries, and a limited ability to balance professional and private life. Over the years, this has led to a progressive decrease in available staff and increasing emigration of young professionals to foreign healthcare systems offering better opportunities.

The government and regional authorities have attempted to address the problem by requesting additional funding for the healthcare sector. However, actual allocations are often below the stated needs. Former Minister Lorenzin highlights how the chronic lack of resources prevents a structural reform of staffing, necessary not only to increase salaries but also to improve overall working conditions. The consequence, according to her analysis, is a slow but inexorable weakening of the public healthcare system, which risks being replaced by private initiatives, with a direct impact on the accessibility and quality of care for citizens.