Decree of Health

The small village of Belcastro in Italy has banned its residents from becoming seriously ill, amid a healthcare crisis in the southern region of Calabria, the BBC reported.

A decree from the village’s Mayor Antonio Torchia ordered residents “to avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance.” It also instructs villagers “not to engage in behaviors that may be harmful and to avoid domestic accidents,” and “not to leave the house too often, travel or practice sports, and to (instead) rest for the majority of the time.”

Torchia said the decree was “obviously a humorous provocation” to garner attention to the inadequate healthcare access.

It is not clear if the measures will be enforced or how.

Still, the mayor noted that the decree seemed to have more effect than the urgent notices he sent to regional authorities to highlight the deficiencies of Calabria’s local healthcare system.

Around half of Belcastro’s, 1,200 residents are over the age of 65, and the nearest Accident & Emergency department is more than 28 miles away.

The mayor added that the on-call doctor surgery in the small village is only open sporadically, making it hard to access emergency care.

One Belcastro resident praised Torchia’s move, saying “He has used a provocative decree to attract attention to a serious problem.”

Political mismanagement and mafia interference have decimated the healthcare system in this poor and sparsely populated region of Italy. Hospitals are plagued with vast amounts of debt, leading their facilities to lack medical personnel and beds. Patients also face never-ending waitlists for care.

Eighteen of the region’s hospitals have closed since 2009. One in five Calabrian residents seek medical care outside of the province due to shortages in healthcare provision, according to Euronews.

In 2022, Cuba pledged to send 497 doctors to Calabria over three years to work in various medical facilities. Roberto Occhiuto, the regional governor, said that these doctors had “saved” Calabria’s hospitals.

Despite Cuban reinforcements, researchers have estimated that another 2,500 doctors are needed to fill the gaps.

Disgruntled patients and relatives have also been taking out their anger on hospital staff. In September, the Italian army was deployed to a Calabrian hospital following a string of violent attacks on healthcare workers, the Associated Press noted.