"They want to squeeze us": General practitioners protested the Benigni bill in Naples.

General practitioners in Naples are protesting a proposed law that aims to redefine their profession. The Italian Doctors' Union organized a sit-in on Via Verdi, coinciding with a conference on community healthcare, to denounce the risks associated with the legislation presented by Congressman Benigni.

At the heart of the protest is the rescheduling of working hours, which mandates twenty hours per week in offices and another eighteen in community centers and local health authorities (ASL) facilities. This provision, according to doctors, fails to take into account the true volume of daily activities, including direct care, bureaucracy, and home visits.

"We don't understand how anyone can claim that family doctors' work can be limited to these hours, without considering all the work that goes into it," says Giovanni Senese, regional secretary of the Campania SMI. "Those who work in the sector know full well that today, we already exceed forty or fifty hours a week."

The union also denounces a broader risk, linked to the nature of the employment relationship that would emerge from the reform. "This is a model that effectively introduces a disguised dependency, but without the expected protections, such as maternity leave, vacation, and accident coverage," Senese emphasizes. "A hybrid system that guarantees neither doctors' rights nor the quality of care."

The criticism also extends to the effects on patients. "We reject this proposal outright because it undermines the doctor-patient relationship," the regional secretary continues. "Whoever wrote it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the profession or its relationship with patients."

According to the Italian Ministry of Health (SMI), the reform risks worsening an already critical situation, fueling burnout and discouraging young people from pursuing a career in general medicine. "It's an unacceptable proposal," insists Senese. "It encourages abandonment of the profession and exposes millions of citizens to the risk of being left without a family doctor."

Meanwhile, the union has launched a national public consultation to gather doctors' opinions on the future of the contract. The responses, already in the thousands, represent a clear signal, according to the SMI, that politicians cannot ignore. "Politicians must listen to those who work in the field," Senese concludes. "We will not allow the community care system to be dismantled and citizens to be deprived of their healthcare provider."