The direction was clear from the beginning: a general clean-up. Now that the emergency is finally behind us and we could, and should, deal with what happened objectively, other decisions have arrived from the justice system that leave us speechless. The reference is to the dismissal ordered by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations of the Court of Cremona for some outbreaks which since the spring of 2020 have affected several RSAs in the Lombardy province, also causing the death of some patients. A similar epilogue could occur for the Le Fontanelle RSA in Soleto, in the province of Lecce, another facility overwhelmed by the virus with infections and deaths, which the Public Prosecutor has requested to be dismissed. Situations that make the work awaiting the parliamentary commission of inquiry into Covid which should take its first steps in a few weeks even more important.
“The archiving orders recently issued – declares Ivano Giacomelli, National Codes Secretary – follow a constant trend. In the face of the pandemic, the law does not seem the same for everyone. Justice does not protect the victims of healthcare mismanagement. It is good to clarify one aspect. No one denies the exceptional nature of the Covid emergency, which has burst into our lives, turning them upside down. We recognize this, as do the PMs, who at the same time also recognize that the initial management showed serious gaps, important shortcomings. The Judges also say so in their dismissal orders. The initial surprise was not followed by a different management of the situation to deal with and combat the virus, in terms of infections, patient care, management of healthcare personnel. But if at the time the attention was entirely focused on the very tough battle against Covid, marked by a very difficult race against time, today what emerges is the concern to protect doctors, absolving them of any responsibility. Were masks not worn? Weren't positive patients separated from negative ones? Was access to the RSA free, without any control? Blame the emergency. In our opinion this is not the case. There are obvious responsibilities in the mismanagement of Covid in some RSAs, in the failure to comply with directives and protocols, and if the situation did not worsen it was only thanks to the sacrifice of healthcare workers who put their lives at risk to protect patients, working without adequate tools and subjecting themselves to grueling shifts. This was not enough to avoid countless deaths. Almost three years after those devastating outbreaks, we thought we had finally arrived at the moment of truth. We must note, with great bitterness, what an injustice has been done. The system absolved itself, citizens were abandoned to their pain, to the torment of the loss of their loved ones. All this to protect the doctors' lobby. In light of this situation, the work awaiting the parliamentary commission of inquiry into Covid, which should begin its work in the spring, appears even more important. We expect answers, clear and clear. It is necessary to make a critical examination of what has happened in the last three years, on the management of the pandemic, on the lack of protective equipment, on home care, just to give three examples of issues to analyze. We have been talking about this Commission for a long time, we hope that it will work in an effective and concrete manner, because citizens deserve to know what was done, how it operated in that terrible period".
Rome, February 3 2023
