Why Covid Caused Such Suffering in Italy’s Wealthiest Region

LONDON — Dr. Chiara Lepora had never imagined being deployed in her home country of Italy. As a physician for the international relief agency Doctors Without Borders, she was accustomed to caring for people in countries like Yemen and South Sudan, amid extreme poverty and war.

But early this year, as the novel coronavirus spread from Asia to Europe, Dr. Lepora found herself pressed into service in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, one of the wealthiest places on earth.

Anchored by Milan, Italy’s financial and fashion capital, Lombardy boasts sophisticated industry and world-class medical facilities. Yet it was overwhelmed by the first wave of the global pandemic, forcing doctors to ration ventilators and hospital beds, while having to decide who lived and who died.

The catastrophe in Italy’s most affluent region was in part a consequence of having entrusted much of the public health care system to private, profit-making companies while failing to coordinate their services. Over the previous quarter-century, substantial investment has flowed into lucrative specialties like cardiac surgery and oncology. Areas on the front lines of the pandemic, like family medicine and public health, have been neglected, leaving people excessively reliant on hospitals for care.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/business/lombardy-italy-coronavirus-doctors.html