People living in the village of Belcastro, located in the region of Calabria in southern Italy, have been ordered not to fall ill by their Mayor Antonio Torchia. While this might seem like a strange prohibition for most of us, he’s got a very good reason to impose the measure on his population.
The village of Belcastro is on the smaller side. 1.200 inhabitants are registered at the town hall, around half of whom are over 65 years old. This issue might not have arisen if the nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E) department weren’t located approximately 45 kilometres away from the village. Moreover, according to Antonio Torchia, the unit is only reachable via a road with a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour. While the village does have a health centre, the service is only open sporadically. This forced the mayor to take action.
“Inhabitants of Belcastro are ordered to avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance”, he stated in a decree. Moreover, he urges people not to engage in behaviours that may be harmful, to avoid domestic accidents and to rest as often as possible.
Even though Torchia immediately admitted the statement was meant as “obviously a humorous provocation”, the reason behind the decree is clear. Torchia wants to highlight the shortcomings of the local healthcare system, and according to the mayor, his humorous statement has had more impact than his previous attempts to make regional authorities aware of the issue.
“This is not just a provocation, the decree is a cry for help, a way to turn the spotlight on an unacceptable situation. We are a small municipality, but the citizens of Belcastro are not worth less than those of big cities. We have a right to decent health care, especially as 50 percent of the population is made up of people over 65”, he explains in an interview with local media outlet Corriere della Calabria.
Torchia admits his actions are but a drop in the ocean but he hopes nonetheless that his statement will spark some action by local authorities. Many other Calabrian villages are struggling with similar issues.
“Come and live for a week in our small village and try to feel safe knowing that in case of a health emergency the only hope is to get to Catanzaro in time, perhaps risking more on the roads than the illness itself. Try it and then tell me if this situation seems acceptable to you”, the Mayor concludes.
