Italian village forbids residents from becoming ill

A small Italian village has prevented its residents from becoming seriously ill.

Residents of Belcastro are “ordered not to contract any illness that may require emergency treatment,” an order from local Mayor Antonio Torchia.

Belcastro is located in the south of Calabria – one of the poorest in Italy.

Torchia said the move was “obviously meant to be a joke”, but it had more ramifications than the notices he sent to local authorities to highlight medical malpractice.

About half of Belcastro’s 1,200 residents are over 65 and the nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E) department is 45km (28 miles) away, the mayor said.

He added that A&E is only accessible by a road with a speed limit of 30kmh (18mph).

The local doctor’s surgery is also open occasionally and does not cover weekends, holidays or after hours.

Torchia told Italian TV that it was difficult “to be safe when you know that if you need help, your only hope is to deal with the problem. [A&E] on time” – and that the roads were almost “more dangerous than any disease”.

As part of the order, residents were also ordered to “avoid dangerous activities and avoid domestic accidents”, and “not to leave the house frequently, walk or exercise, [instead] rest often”.

It is unclear how the new rules will be implemented, if at all.

The sparsely populated region of Calabria – Italy’s shoelace – is one of the poorest in the country.

Political mismanagement and mafia interference have destroyed its health system, which was placed under special administration from the central government about 15 years ago.

The elected committees in Rome have had difficulty dealing with the large debts that hospitals are facing, meaning that Calabrians remain crippled by a severe shortage of medical staff and beds, as well as waiting lists.

Eighteen local hospitals have closed since 2009.

As a result, almost half of Calabria’s nearly two million inhabitants go outside the region.

In 2022, it was announced that Cuba will send 497 doctors to Italy over three years to work in different hospitals. Regional governor Roberto Occhiuto said last year that these doctors “saved” Calabria’s hospitals.

Residents of Belcastro told the local media that Mayor Torchia “did the right thing by examining the issue”, and that this decision “shocks the conscience”.

“He has used a provocative law to draw attention to a serious problem,” said one man.