Around the world

The exodus of doctors and nurses, the emergency room crisis, and the forgotten lesson of the pandemic

People are living longer, but the inequality in aging is growing. There are increasing disparities in longevity and the chances of having a long, healthy life, influenced by income, occupation, and place of birth. Meanwhile, young people are facing rising levels of depression. Italy’s universal healthcare system faces significant challenges. During the pandemic, we received nearly 200 billion euros from Europe. It was expected that we would use these substantial resources to prepare for these challenges. Instead, emergency medicine is in a constant state of crisis, with shortages of doctors in many specialties and an even greater shortage of nurses. With the Recovery and Resilience National Plan, we have taken on an additional 123 billion euros of debt and have no more funds for healthcare. Despite this, there are still many improvements that can be made even with limited resources.