The 1,300 residents of Belcastro in the Calabria region of Italy have been told to “avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance”
In a bizarre twist that sounds like something straight out of a satirical novel, an idyllic Italian village has caused a stir across the nation by issuing a decree forbidding its inhabitants from falling seriously ill.
The picturesque community of Belcastro, nestled in the mountains of Calabria and home to 1,300 souls, has instructed locals to “avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance”.
But this seemingly ludicrous rule is actually a desperate cry for help to highlight the dire state of the town’s healthcare facilities, says Mayor Antonio Torchia. Speaking to Italian media, he described the edict as “obviously a humorous provocation”, yet one that has garnered more attention than any of his previous pleas over recent years.
With the spotlight now firmly on Belcastro, Mayor Torchia has shed light on the grim reality facing his constituents: calamitous infrastructure in Calabria severely hampers emergency services’ ability to reach those in urgent need, a situation worsened by the high proportion of residents aged over 65.
To make matters worse, the closest emergency department is a daunting 28-mile journey away, along a road where the speed limit is a mere 18mph.
In a poignant conclusion, Mr Torchia lamented: “I have been waiting since last June for the health service to be activated in Belcastro, a right enshrined in the Constitution, but no one has given me an answer yet.”
“I hope that my initiative will provoke some conscience at the political level, as well as at the health level, and that the necessary actions are taken as soon as possible to resolve this unfortunate situation,” reports the Express.
Mr Torchia expressed concern over the condition of his idyllic village amidst a growing pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to overhaul Italy’s healthcare amidst financial tightrope walking. Last year, uproar echoed through the nation as budget reports hinted at axed funding for healthcare.
Politico received a grim picture from Naples surgeon Pierino Di Silverio, “The welfare state is in great crisis. It’s a pillar of our social model – and it’s being progressively de-financed.”
A Rome-based medic lamented over a health system “so underfunded and badly equipped that people spend days in the emergency room”.