Naples – Approximately 150 family doctors from the five provinces of Campania gathered yesterday in front of Palazzo Santa Lucia , seat of the Presidency and the Regional Council, to demonstrate against the Regional Supplementary Agreement that the Campania Region wanted to sign with the trade unions in the sector.
An agreement that, according to the protesters, would transform general practitioners into "de facto employees, without protection or autonomy," distorting their role and worsening patient care.
Leading the protest were the regional leaders of the Italian Society of General Medicine and Primary Care (SIMG), President Giacomo Pulcino Lupo and Vice President Antonella Maria Ilaria Cicale, joined by numerous colleagues.
Doctors' Voices: "Bureaucracy and Conflicts of Interest"
"Family doctors are essential to protecting citizens' health only if they remain free to care for their patients," explained Dr. Salvatore Caiazza. "Burning us with bureaucratic burdens that aren't ours means reducing the time we can dedicate to care and listening."
The alleged confusion of roles and interests is also at the heart of the protests. Dr. Pasquale Persico has pointed the finger at some union representatives who, while sitting at the negotiating table, also hold senior positions in cooperatives where mandatory membership for family doctors is being sought : "This situation undermines the transparency and credibility of the process," he stated. "We ask the Region to ensure decisions are made in the exclusive interest of professionals and citizens, uninfluenced by potential conflicts."
Doctor Gianni Verde agreed, describing the agreement as "a mechanism that would turn us into puppets, shuttled between practices and community centers, while PNRR funds go primarily to construction, not to strengthening community health."
The protest and the halt to the agreement
According to the doctors, the Region—made aware of the protest—had brought forward the signing of the agreement, scheduled for today, by a day, but in the end the agreement was not signed, a clear sign of a rift between official representatives and the rank-and-file.
"The movement taking to the streets today," the protesters reiterated, "is made up of independent, apolitical doctors who refuse to accept decisions imposed from above. Our fight is for patients and for the future of community medicine."
The issue of local healthcare
The discussion comes at a crucial time for the Campania and national healthcare systems: the reorganization of community care envisaged by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), with the creation of Community Houses, requires a redesign of the role of general practitioners. This transition, without dialogue with the profession, risks opening a new front of tension in a healthcare system already strained by staff shortages and long waiting lists.
Campania's doctors promise not to stop: "Our protest is an act of responsibility towards the profession and towards the citizens," Persico concluded. "We will not remain silent in the face of decisions that compromise autonomy and the quality of care."
