Healthcare: 24-hour assistance at mental health centers halted, sparking a clash in Naples.

Naples – Starting July 1st, the Mental Health Centers (CSM) of the ASL Napoli 1 Centro will no longer provide care during the night and on holidays. Despite repeated appeals from providers, unions, and family associations, the health authority has confirmed the measure canceling the 24-hour service, downsizing one of the pillars of Neapolitan community healthcare. This decision, according to the Fp Cgil Napoli, risks compromising the care of the most vulnerable and undermining a care model that has long been considered virtuous.

The union's complaint: "A step backwards of years."

The alarm raised in recent weeks by the social partners has fallen on deaf ears. The cuts will result in the loss of approximately 20 annual services for patients with psychiatric disorders.

"Starting today, the most vulnerable citizens are losing a crucial support system for assistance and continuity of care," says Antimo Morlando, Secretary of Public Health for the Naples FP-CGIL. "This is an incomprehensible decision that severely impacts patients, families, and workers, with the real risk of setting mental health care in our country back by years."

The funding issue and the political conflict

At the heart of the controversy is also a strong political contradiction surrounding healthcare funding. On the one hand, the Campania Region recently announced the allocation of €92 million specifically to strengthen community-based healthcare; on the other, unions complain, measures are being endorsed that dismantle existing services. This dichotomy disorients public opinion and deprives announcements about strengthening local services of meaning.

The risk of collapse in emergency rooms

The end of the 24-hour service will not only affect the management of acute emergencies, but will also break a chain of care continuity consisting of home visits, constant clinical monitoring, and daily support for families.

According to the union, public healthcare cannot be governed solely by accounting dynamics: merging or reducing services to address staffing shortages will inevitably shift patients to city hospitals. The real fear is that emergency rooms, already structurally strained, will soon be overwhelmed, resulting in increased public costs and a deterioration in the quality of care for chronically ill patients.

Staff in revolt, the mobilization continues

In addition to the impact on patients, the measure has a devastating impact on healthcare workers' work organization, right in the midst of shift planning and summer vacations. The Naples FPCGIL union has already announced that its mobilization will not end with the plan's implementation: the goal remains the immediate restoration of 24-hour care to defend a healthcare model that focuses on prevention and the protection of the most vulnerable.