The Tuscan region is facing a serious shortage of medical professionals with about 147 vacancies in hospitals throughout the region still needing to be filled. These positions include both general practitioner jobs as well as management openings.
One solution the region is proposing is an increase in hiring medical school graduates despite their lack of specializations and contracting them to complete specific job training.
This staffing crisis could be a threat to efficiency as the hospitals are now less equipped to handle the 130-140 patients who come in daily. Waiting rooms overflowing, not enough hospital beds and excessive wait time are main concerns as well.
“An emergency, such as that of the shortage of staff of both medical and nursing staff, must be treated with priority and speed. It is necessary to consider it a priority and to act quickly, without resorting to too long procedures,” said Stefano Scaramelli, the President of the Health Committee of the Region of Tuscany. (kelsey lentz)
To read more in Italian, visit La Repubblica news site.
