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Contenuto principale

Health and Civil Protection

The Italian government has mobilised all the necessary resources, setting aside a total of approximately € 9.5 billion, to structurally strengthen its network of hospitals and to ensure the national health system, civil protection service and police forces have the personnel and equipment they need to help people affected by the virus and to prevent, mitigate and contain the epidemic.

  • Italy's National Emergency Fund has been refinanced for a total of € 3.73 billion.
  • € 1.4 billion has been set aside for the reorganisation of Italy's hospital network in order to deal with the Covid-19 emergency: 3,500 new intensive care beds, the upgrading of 4,225 new beds in the semi-intensive care area, half of which can be converted into intensive care beds, and 300 intensive care beds in mobile facilities, in addition to other development and renovation measures. € 400 million has also been set aside for private facilities making their health personnel available for service, as well as their premises and equipment.
  • A decisive measure worth € 1.2 billion for 2020, dedicated to strengthening local health care, by boosting the monitoring and early tracking of cases, providing assistance to patients in self-isolation at home, increasing treatment services in the home and strengthening district nursing services, with the introduction of family or community nurses, recruiting up to eight nurses for every 50,000 inhabitants with contracts running from 15 May to 31 December 2020.
  • The Italian national health service has hired 20,000 people and extraordinary measures have been taken to recruit health care personnel, also derogating from public employment regulations. Plans are also in place for health care personnel to access Italy’s national health system with a one-year fixed-term contract. The country's regional authorities will therefore be able to re-plan their staffing requirements.
  • In order to promptly respond to the demand for outpatient services, screening and hospitalisation that were not provided during the epidemiological emergency, and to reduce waiting lists, the 'August’ Decree set aside approximately € 500 million for the additional services of medical personnel.
  • Assistance is guaranteed in the event of a GP being replaced, with the possibility to temporarily appoint qualified graduates who are enrolled on the primary health care training course or specialisation courses.
  • Should it not be possible to recruit new personnel, there will be the possibility to keep on National Health Service staff who would have otherwise retired.
  • Invitalia is authorised to issue subsidised loans or free grants to companies producing medical devices and personal protective equipment (50 million). The military pharmaceutical plant in Florence is authorised to produce and distribute disinfectants, germicides and bactericides.
  • Italy's Civil Protection service may order the requisition of medical-surgical equipment and movable goods that are necessary to deal with the health emergency, from public or private entities. Prefects may order the requisition of hotels or properties with similar characteristics in order to accommodate people under medical surveillance (150 million).
  • It will be possible to increase the number of military medical and nursing staff by 490 resources, with an exceptional one-year stop, while military health services shall also be strengthened. An additional € 88 million is being set aside to strengthen military health services in 2020, as well as € 1 million for the overtime worked by medical staff, paramedics and operating theatre teams in the armed forces. Over € 167 million from Italy's ‘National Emergency Fund’ will be going to the emergency management departments of the Ministry of the Interior, the armed forces, the police force and the fire brigade.
  • An additional 500 people will be recruited for the “Safe Streets” initiative, for which approximately € 4.7 million has been set aside.
  • INAIL [Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work] will be able to hire 200 specialist doctors and 100 nurses on fixed-term contracts, while more resources will also be allocated to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità [Italian National Health Institute] to meet epidemiological surveillance needs (these measures amount to approximately € 68 million).
  • Expenditure on scholarships for doctors undergoing specialist training has been increased by € 105 million for 2020 and 2021 and by € 109 million per year for 2022, 2023 and 2024.
  • An exception has been made to the rules for the recognition of professional health care qualifications, allowing those who have qualified in a health care profession abroad to temporarily practise in Italy, as governed by specific directives issued by the European Union.
  • During the state of emergency only, the validity period for medical prescriptions for “category A” medicine shall be extended. At the same time, the tax effects from sales of medicine for compassionate use have been neutralised, treating the sale of such medicines in the same way as if they had been destroyed for VAT purposes and excluding their normal value from contributing to revenues for direct tax purposes. In fact, the current tax rules in force prevent the VAT deduction from being applied to these types of medicine and involve taxation for business income purposes.
  • Extraordinary procedures have been introduced for civil service examinations at the Italian Ministry of Health and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità [Italian National Health Institute].
  • Contracted medical practitioners are entitled to the difference between the contractual increases already recognised and guaranteed as a result of the National Collective Bargaining Agreements in force and the incremental total provided for in 2018 by the official guidelines approved by the Regions-Health Care Sector Committee on 9 July and 29 August 2019.
  • Tax credit for the adaptation of workplaces: a 60% tax credit for any expenses incurred in 2020 to reopen businesses safely to the public, up to a limit of € 80,000 per beneficiary. The tax credit can be used for offsetting purposes and may be transferred to others, including credit institutions and other financial intermediaries, with the right to subsequently assign the credit. € 2 billion has been set aside for this measure.
  • Tax credit for the sanitisation of work environments: those running a business or carrying out artistic activities or a profession, associations, foundations and other private entities, including third-sector organisations, are entitled to a 60% tax credit for any expenses incurred in 2020 for the sanitisation of their workplace and work tools, as well as for the purchase of personal protective equipment and other devices aimed at protecting the health of workers and users. This tax credit is available up to a maximum of € 60,000 per beneficiary. The tax credit is not counted as income for income tax purposes and when calculating the value of production for IRAP [regional income tax] purposes.

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