The persistence of the COVID emergency not only affects scheduled surgical interventions, but also booked visits and exams lost because they were canceled or postponed indefinitely. While the medical and nursing staff are again under pressure due to the overcrowding of the hospitals, the need arises for an urgent rescheduling of the canceled outpatient activities, first of all overcoming the distrust of users to go to the hospital for fear of contagions.
New crusade of AIGO - National Association of Hospital Gastroenterologists and Digestive Endoscopists in favor of the patient and the efficiency of the NHS with an appeal to reorganize and recover, in a short time, the diagnostic investigations skipped due to the fourth pandemic wave. A topic that has been dragging on for some time, with worrying data also on the lack of cancer prevention.
A recent survey conducted by AIGO on 136 hospitals homogeneously distributed throughout the country, confirms that many departments have had to deal with a reduction in sick staff and with many canceled reservations (or with no-shows of patients for an appointment without cancellation).
85% of the Gastroenterology Units that responded to the survey confirmed the non-provision of outpatient visits and endoscopic examinations booked in the last two weeks; over a quarter of Units saw 30% or more of postponed outpatient services.
“This risks making citizens lose the train of prevention and treatment. - appeals the President Fabio Monica - We know well how the time factor is crucial to win the battle against numerous pathologies. Colorectal cancer is the most common cancer of the digestive system and represents the second cause of death from cancer in both men and women - recalls President Aigo - with a total of 20 deaths a year. Diseases of the digestive system are, in Italy, constantly increasing and constitute the second cause of hospitalization in Italy (about 800 hospitalizations / year) after cardiovascular diseases; despite this, the already few beds in the gastroenterology wards continue to be reduced or converted. "
The current 2022 emergency is worsening an already alarming picture: the AIGO survey showed that a third of the gastroenterology units had a partial or complete reconversion of hospitalizations following the new wave of COVID-related hospitalizations
"Faced with the persistence of the pandemic emergency, the delays in resuming treatment and above all the prevention programs skipped from 2020 to today, a loss of at least 15 months of life expectancy is calculated" continues Dr. Monica "by drawing a situation epidemiological situation of the country in general worsening. It would therefore be unforgivable to cancel reservations not paid in this peak period of infections, with the risk of repeating the disastrous effects of the first wave.
A clear and unequivocal appeal to a constant and effective contact of professionals with the Institutions and Hospital Departments, for which AIGO declares itself available, in order to design a path to recover missed appointments.