Headline: Pordenone Hospitals Face Cuts: Doctors Protest Against Regional Cancer Plan
Subhead: Thirty-seven directors sign letter opposing potential loss of surgical services, with PD criticizing regional and local right-wing leadership.
Article
In a passionate plea against the regional cancer plan, thirty-seven hospital directors and healthcare service managers have united to voice their concerns about potentially heavy penalties for their facility’s surgical services. Their signed letter, addressed to the third health commission of the regional council, argues against the proposed changes outlined in the Agenas report.
The directors, hailing from various specialties, stressed that their hospital has been performing surgeries for pancreatic, liver, stomach, and lung cancer cases for many years, with volumes comparable to, or even exceeding, those of other regional facilities. These surgeries, they assert, have not only ensured care for the local population but also attracted patients from outside the region. Furthermore, the directors contend that these services have fostered interdisciplinary collaboration with other departments, such as urology, vascular surgery, and otorhinolaryngology, and bolstered the emergency response capabilities of their hospital’s emergency room.
The proposed cuts, they argue, would significantly diminish their hospital’s role, leading to a loss of patients who would likely seek treatment elsewhere, the departure of young surgeons specialized in these areas, and a potential reduction in regional investments. They assert that the current patient volumes, surgical outcomes, and epidemiological data justify the retention of these services, advocating for a revised cancer plan that integrates their hospital in surgical cancer treatment.
The letter has sparked political debate, with Nicola Conficoni, a regional councilor and PD candidate for mayor of Pordenone, along with Nicola Delli Quadri, the PD’s regional health secretary, lambasting the regional and local right-wing leadership for "penalizing the healthcare system in Pordenone province." They argue that the proposed cancer plan is the latest in a series of decisions that have impoverished health services in Western Friuli.
Conficoni and Delli Quadri criticize the regional government and the current Pordenone mayor for remaining silent on these issues, citing derogations granted to Latisana and Tolmezzo that will result in Udine province, with a larger population, maintaining four birthing centers while Pordenone province will have only one. They also express concern about the underfunding of ASPFO, the local health authority, and the potential weakening of Santa Maria degli Angeli hospital, which they argue has suffered from staff shortages despite the investment in new pavilions under the previous center-left administration.
The PD representatives vow to fight against the proposed cuts, describing the right-wing leadership as having "amply betrayed the promise to protect Pordenone’s healthcare system." As the debate continues, the hospital directors’ letter serves as a rallying cry, highlighting the potential impacts of the proposed changes on healthcare services in the region.
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