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Lorenzo Mottola
The best example perhaps comes from Tuscany, where, by order of the Region, some nursing homes now house only coronavirus-positive patients. These structures were so overgrown that it was preferred to move the few healthy elderly people elsewhere rather than isolate the sick. In Emilia Romagna, in just one week, 60 deaths have been registered in the RSA, while in Sicily there are cases of patients abandoned “naked on the ground in the middle of excrement and mice”, as described by the Catania police. In Lazio, victims’ families are mobilizing to bring the alleged perpetrators of the tragedy to court, while in Piedmont 400 infections out of 3,800 on Thursday concerned nursing homes.
THE ORIGIN
How do we get to this point? Let’s give you a piece of information: in May of last year the carabinieri launched a general campaign to look for violations in the hierocomes in the face of a possible return of the Covid flame. The results were worrying: in one clinic in 10 among those visited, serious violations were reported, for 56 health companies the suspension and closure measure was activated. The impression is that, in the hope that the virus would disappear, no one bothered to insure the guests.
A famous case of a Neapolitan doctor who, to speed up procedures, rubs all patients without even bothering to change the gloves with which he had put a stick in the mouth of dozens of people. The effects are easy to understand. And the staff didn’t always help. In October, considering the hypothesis of another distant spike in contagion, unions continued to complain that retirees were isolated in hospices, which is absolutely necessary.
POLITICS
It seems like nothing has changed since March, but there is one thing. It seems that what is happening has much less interest. Everyone will remember the investigations and journalistic inquiries of the first wave, the “massacre of the grandparents”, the alleged scandal of Pio Albergo Trivulzio, the inspectors of the Ministry of Health who rushed to Milan in search of evidence of the guilty massacre. A forceful campaign, which obviously focused on the alleged political responsibilities behind the disaster.
“The Fontana board must explain,” thundered the Pd councilors. The problem is that, as various studies later confirmed, the circulation of the disease in RSA is directly proportional to the number of infected in the area where they are found. So, obviously, the cases were concentrated in Lombardy in the spring. Today the contagion has spread throughout Italy and, consequently, there has no longer been the possibility of exploiting the issue politically. And of course, everything about this problem has essentially disappeared from the news and has been relegated to the tail of the local newspapers.
THE COMMISSION
However, there would still be something to say. The government’s response on this front was non-existent. A little over a month ago, the “commission for health and social assistance for the elderly population” was created. It is presided over by a monsignor, Vincenzo Paglia, who obviously at this moment cannot help updating the account of the victims. Obviously, the Regions also have strong responsibilities, because the regulations are drawn up by the municipalities. However, many governors explain that they have no way of verifying if these rules are respected.
Therefore, a great deal of prevention work was needed, because evidently the very nature of these places exposes them to the epidemic: this has been the case throughout the world. A series of long and patient controls was needed to try to avoid as many deaths as possible. It only remains to hope that there is no third wave to see if we have finally learned our lesson.
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