In the most recent report – which has not yet been published – the Health Regulatory Authority (ERS) reports cases of users who went to health units to medical appointments or hospital emergencies e were denied accessdue to different factors. The document points out that some of the reasons are the lack of vacancies or (in the case of emergencies) the user not having contacted SNS 24 before going to the emergency department, explain the “News Diary”.
The situations reported are due to the program “Call First, Save Lives”which debuted as pilot project in May 2023, having then officially become “the main gateway to the National Health Service”explains the regulator.
In most cases the user is asked to contact the SNS 24 and wait to be redirected to the ULS. where it is located, but in the majority of cases patients end up being registered in other ULS – far from the area of residence – or to hospitals that no longer have the requested unit, due to the lack of updated data on the National Health Service telephone line.
This non-compliance may lead to payment of fines ranging from two thousand to 44 thousand euros.