Repubblica Futura has weighed in on the case of surgery chief physician Landolfo, launching an attack on the leadership of the Institute for Social Security (Istituto per la Sicurezza Sociale, ISS), its Executive Committee and the Sammarinese government. At the heart of the criticism are the difficulties surrounding the doctor’s return after a period of leave — an episode the party views as symptomatic of broader problems in the management of healthcare staff.
“When a chief physician is involved, the ISS goes into meltdown,” Repubblica Futura claims, also pointing to a similar episode that occurred in the past within the orthopaedics department.
“There’s one thing the ISS leadership seems unable to manage: staff movements involving the head of an organisational unit. It happened in orthopaedics, with public petitions in favour of a doctor and a happy ending thanks to pressure from citizens. Now it’s happening again, in a different unit — surgery — but the problem has the same contours. The chief physician decides to return from a period of leave, only to run into a thousand bureaucratic obstacles that effectively prevent him from resuming his role.”
For the opposition party, the handling of the case raises questions about the decisions made by the top ranks of San Marino’s healthcare system. “Is all this normal? For RF, no. Looking at how the government and the ISS Executive Committee manage staff and leadership, the impression is one of a complete mess,” the statement reads.
Repubblica Futura also raises allegations of political interference, directly implicating Christian Democrat figures, though without naming specific names or incidents.
“Vox populi, vox dei — in the hospital corridors, it’s the only thing being talked about. On one side there’s the usual Christian Democrat approach exerting heavy influence; on the other, there’s reason and the need to have back in active duty a doctor who for years has been one of the leading professionals in our healthcare system.”
The party is therefore calling for greater transparency in the management of the Institute and a change of approach in the relationship between politics and healthcare.
“Repubblica Futura calls for transparent management of the ISS, run in the interest of citizens. Enough with the Guelph-versus-Ghibelline battles within the Institute, enough with political interference from powerful Christian Democrats who are wreaking havoc on the entire system.”
The criticism also extends to decisions made by the Executive Committee, with particular reference to healthcare co-payments and mammograms. Repubblica Futura disputes the overall approach to healthcare management and argues that the Institute is modelling itself on the Italian system without adequately considering the size of the Republic.
“To this we must add that the Executive Committee — the same one that will apply Italian-style co-payments to our healthcare system and cut the number of mammograms in order to pocket performance bonuses — still hasn’t understood how to run healthcare for a community of 35,000 people, and is taking Italy as its model and copying it,” the party states, making claims about the motives behind these choices that are not substantiated with documentation in the statement.
Finally, Repubblica Futura points to the shortage of medical and nursing staff, the discontent reported among employees, and the expectations tied to the appointment of the new Executive Committee, also taking aim at Libera.
“The fresh momentum promised by Libera during the election campaign through the appointment of a new Executive Committee — as the facts described show — has already completely run aground. The reality is that we are paying for not one but two general directors, and then, whenever a chief physician is involved, the ISS regularly falls into disarray.”
