Recently an article was published by ANSA which described the unsanitary conditions of a Rome hospital: Hygiene Scandal Hits Italy's Biggest Hospital (January 5, 2007)

see http://www.lifeinitaly.com/news/news-detailed.asp?newsid=4086

In the years I have lived in Italy, numerous times I have experienced unclean conditions in hospitals and have even heard doctors complaining about it. What doctors have told my husband and I many times over is that: there are excellent doctors here in Italy but the conditions that they often have to work in are not so good. Milan's hospitals are also an example of this. Conditions over the years have not improved. And these unsanitary conditions are not only seen in public hospitals, but also in the private hospitals in Italy.

The journalist, in the abovementioned article, who exposed these unsanitary conditions, should be applauded. Hopefully this exposure will lead to improvement throughout all regions of Italy.

kfscala

This is quite scary, because hygiene and cleanliness are the absolute basics for any hospital. Is this hospital a public one?

I have seen hospitals run similarly in India where the poor go, and sometimes when the nurses/ doctors/cleaning staff are on strike, conditions are similar. In India privately owned hospitals are actually cleaner and better run, some of them look like five-star hotels! Same is the case with China, where the gap between public-run and private hospitals is vast.

On the other hand I have seen all sorts of hospitals in Malaysia and Singapore, all of whom were clean and some so shiny that you could eat off the floor!

I am sure with the problem brought to light, the situation will improve in Italian hospitals.

I don't think that this problem is central to Italian hospitals. The situation is not that brilliant in the UK. In 2004, after waiting for over a year for an operation and following 4 cancellations, my mother eventually (she has retained her Italian citizenship despite living abroad for over 50 years) underwent treatment in the Marche.

I have to state that although the department was desparately underesourced, she was lucky that the level of care and hygiene was far better than that offered by her local hospital back in the UK.

Although this may be a worst case condition, from my experience it doesn't apply to all. The problem is IMO that hospital workers are under-paid like almost everyone in Italy. Being in this condition, they just don't care. It's pathetic, but it's also the reality.

We have socialized health care here, but most of the doctors are incompetent to say the least. There was a recent article in the Repubblica that said that 90 NINETY people in Italy die every day due to doctors' incompetence - that's more than traffic accidents.

jim

Compared to the 15 deaths each day caused by road traffic accidents (2005 figures), the numbers are lower as you indeed point out, but I think that the problem with statistics like these is that they conceal more than they reveal.

The problem of infection and superbugs like MRSA, PVL and Clostridium Difficile is not confined to Italy however. For example, health campaigners in the UK say the true number of deaths from hospital-acquired infections stands at circa 10,000 each year.

Now the reports say that the 7000 deaths a year that occur in Italian public hospitals are due to a lack of hygiene because only one-third of doctors and nurses observe the elementary rules of hygiene before attending their patients.

The population of Italy is circa 58 million. In the USA it is just over 300 million. Therefore, the 7000 deaths in Italy translate to the equivalent of 36000 in the USA. Since the real figure for the USA is more like 103000, the chances of an American dying of infection in an American hospital are 3 times greater than if he or she underwent treatment in an Italian hospital.

We can play around with the numbers to conclude whatever we want to. I think it is unfair to point to incompetence alone as a lot of the problems that have plagued Italy for many years are mainly due to the systemic failures of the country’s public administration and concomitant excessive budget deficits and high levels of public debt. Such failures unquestionably affect the level of state provided health care services.

It is easy to single out Italy's health care as being far from perfect but the latest AARP bulletin has an article about America's dirty hospitals...

http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourhealth/dirty_hospitals.html

http://www.repubblica.it/2006/10/sezioni/cronaca/errori-medici/errori-medici/errori-medici.html

Hello,

In reviewing some of your postings I am encouraged to find you have both a knowledgable , ethical, and passionate basis for your comments on health service in Italy.

Would it be possible for me to share with you some suggestions I have prepared for remedial action?

I am from Canada and have performed for many years as a change agent in developing a continuum for the delivery of community services as a viable alternate to institutional care alone.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Dear Sharon,

Your post is very interesting and would be interested in talking with you.
If you would like to contact me, please write to

karinfstr at yahoo.com

Kfscala

Yes of course as it was pointed out above there was this article referring to the US:
Your Health
Dirty Hospitals
Two million patients are infected in hospitals each year and 90,000 of those Americans die.
By Katharine Greider
January 2007

Also the Washingon post Itself have similar articles everyday. Now I have been kucky enough to visit hospitals in both countries : It really depends from Hospital to Hospital. I have a friend who was having an heart attach while vacationing in Venice and he said he was very scared when he saw the Venice Hospital ( going toward with the water ambulance ) it looked like a thing from the Medieval times. When he was in however he said in a matter of minutes he has several pesrons around him and he got an angioplastic procedures immediately. He was well enought that he could fly back only 4 days later. I went with my son to the child Hospital in DC 4 years ago and that too looked pretty bad ( only food they where offering was fried chicken and other junk food ). I also went for a procedure to the Methodist Hospital in Silver Spring MD and when I went to sign in It looked like I was booking into a 5 start Hotels more than a hospital with a receptioninst french bakery and everything. The 2 Hospitals are only 1/2 hour away from each other.

Paolo