Lombardy Councilor for Welfare Letizia Moratti between Health Minister Roberto Speranza and Undersecretary Pierpaolo Sileri (elaboration from photo Lapresse)
The Covid pandemic hit Lombardy first and more severely than all other Italian regions. For this reason, the response of the Lombard health system to the health crisis has ended up in the spotlight, causing endless political controversies. For this reason, the reform of regional law 23/2015 it is not “only” a Lombard event, but a fact of national importance: at the time of its approval, it was assumed that in case of success the Lombard model could be extended to other Italian regions. Unfortunately, the facts have said the exact opposite and therefore the reflection on change also affects the other regions, but let’s see in detail what is being studied in Lombardy.
Law 23 and Pnrr
The road is marked, the reform of law 23/2015 which establishes the rules of Lombard health is drawn. Consistent with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) “The development lines intend to place the strengthening of the territorial area as a guiding principle in the formulation process of the new structure” said the Lombard councilor for Welfare Letizia Moratti, with also a calendar already drawn up: “In September 2021, reconnaissance of suitable sites for the construction of community houses, territorial operations centers and community hospitals, new institutes of the new law; in December 2021 identification of the construction sites “and in March 2022 the” signing of the institutional development contract “is expected.
The cornerstones of the reform
Lombardy intends to change direction by providing greater attention to the territory, to proximity medicine, to prevention. In fact, an implicit admission of the mistakes made in the last 20 years in regional health planning, invested and devastated by Covid. Lombardy, it should be remembered, is one of the geographical areas in the world with the highest number of deaths from Covid compared to the population. Not only that, Lombardy which is the region with the highest lethality rate in Italy: the data emerges from a study byCatholic University, who underlines that the over 33,000 deaths from Covid in the region are not “attributable only to the fragility of the elderly population, the one most affected by the virus”, but “should be sought among a very wide range of factors: organizational deficiencies, initial delays in understanding the severity of the emergency, deficits in the tracing systems of the infections, different levels of aggressiveness of the virus, individual behaviors and choices of central and local governments “. Now the focus is on new health “districts” also redesigning the skills and boundaries of the Healthcare Companiesis. However, there remains a fundamental element of continuity: the health leaders will continue to be decided by the policy, an all-Italian problem that seems to find no solution. After all, health expenditure is by far the main item of the Lombardy regional budget: 18 billion euros a year before Covid. Figures most likely destined to grow.