The PNRR decree approved in the Chamber also intervenes on healthcare and introduces a measure that directly concerns local assistance. Among the main innovations is in fact the extension of the possibility for local health authorities to retain family doctors, paediatricians of free choice and medical guards up to the age of 72. The measure will be valid until 31 December 2027 and is part of the package of interventions with which the Government aims to strengthen the National Health Service.
Why we chose to extend the service up to 72 years
The decision to allow local health authorities to retain affiliated doctors in service for longer arises from a concrete difficulty: in many areas there is a lack of general practitioners, paediatricians and continuity of care professionals. The extension therefore serves to avoid gaps in assistance, especially in areas where the number of retirements risks further reducing the supply of basic care.
The decree moves along three main lines:
- staff strengthening;
- protection of infrastructure investments;
- simplifying access to care.
The chapter on family doctors up to the age of 72 falls within the first trend and aims to give continuity to local assistance, pending broader interventions on recruitment.
The text underlines that the measure is temporary and experimental in nature, but represents an immediate response to the difficulties of the healthcare system. For citizens this means, in concrete terms, that healthcare companies will be able to continue to use experienced staff to keep local services operational.
Not just family doctors, who concerns the extension
The possibility of remaining in service up to 72 years of age does not only concern general practitioners. The rule also applies to pediatricians of free choice and medical guards. These are three central figures in daily care, because they represent the first level of contact between citizens and the healthcare system.
Family doctors follow patients in the ordinary management of their health, paediatricians take care of minors’ care, while medical guards cover health needs outside the ordinary hours of the clinics. The extension therefore aims to support a large part of local medicine.
The choice to extend the period of activity of these professionals is seen as a bridging measure, designed to guarantee continuity in a transition phase and to contain the effects of the lack of staff in basic services.
Other measures on healthcare personnel
The PNRR decree is not limited to the extension of doctors up to 72 years, but also contains other measures concerning healthcare personnel. Among these there is an extraordinary window for the stabilization of precarious workers in the National Health Service.
Healthcare companies will be able to reserve up to 50% of places in competitions for those who have completed at least 18 months of service in the last five years with flexible contracts. For those who have worked for at least 24 months with fixed-term contracts and had entered through a competition, direct recruitment will be possible with simplified procedures based on qualifications and interviews.
However, the perimeter of the measure remains defined. These extraordinary hirings cannot exceed 30% of the needs planned for the three-year period and must take place without new burdens on public finances. The procedures can be activated until 31 December 2026.
Another novelty concerns the OSS, the social and healthcare workers, for which the hiring procedures from abroad are simplified. This intervention is also part of the strategy to strengthen the workforce.
