In 4-5 years, unless corrective measures are taken, family doctors will no longer be enough and hundreds of citizens will begin to find it difficult to choose the basic assistance they want. In the Marche between now and 2021, around 500 primary care and continuity of care doctors will do it out of the 1500 currently in service.
Things are not better in the province of Pesaro-Urbino where, in the same period of time, it is estimated that 40 percent of the approximately 365 general practitioners currently in practice will retire, therefore approximately 146. "These colleagues - 
explains Luciano Fattori, Fimmg provincial secretary – they are children of the health reform of 1978 which extended primary assistance to all citizens who previously resorted to mutual funds. At that time, a very large generation of professionals entered the system and is now on the verge of retirement.
The Fimmg regional secretary, Massimo Magi, is clear: «If this outgoing trend is confirmed, which will not be opposed by an equally substantial entry of qualified professionals, as early as next year we will begin to lose contingents of doctors. Let's take into account that there were just 25 general medicine trainees in the Marche this year compared to 500 requests.
In practice, only 5 per cent of the questions were satisfied». Which has already blown up some parameters, Magi explains: in certain areas of the region the maximum measure has already been exceeded (one doctor for every 1,500 patients), and there are doctors with 1,800 patients. In short, the breaking point is just around the corner. "Indeed, it has already begun - says Fattori - It is difficult to recruit doctors for the medical guard who go looking for them in the south or drawing from the ranks of foreign doctors".
Source Il Resto del Carlino
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