A small Italian village has banned its residents from becoming seriously ill in a bizarre move to protest a lack of health services.
The 1,200 inhabitants of Belcastro, located in Italy’s southern Calabria region, have been ordered to “avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance” in a decree from local mayor Antonio Torchia.
The impoverished village grapples with limited healthcare access and an ageing population – half of Belcastro’s residents are over 65 years old.
Belcastro’s nearest A&E department is more than 28 miles away, and it takes more than three quarters of an hour to reach.
Travel time between Belcastro and the nearest A&E department in Catanzaro stands at more than three quarters of an hour
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Meanwhile, the village’s doctor’s surgery operates sporadically, offering no coverage during weekends, holidays or after hours.
“It’s hard to feel safe when you know that if you need assistance, your only hope is to make it to [A&E] on time,” Torchia told Italian TV.
The decree also ordered residents “not to engage in behaviours that may be harmful and to avoid domestic accidents”.
Villagers were instructed “not to leave the house too often, travel or practise sports, and to rest for the majority of the time”.
The mayor clarified that the decree was “obviously a humorous provocation” but noted it had achieved more impact than his previous urgent notices to regional authorities.
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The 1,200 inhabitants of Belcastro have been ordered to ‘avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance’
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“Let them come and live in Belcastro for a week, I want to know if they feel safe,” Torchia said.
The mayor revealed he had been waiting since June for health services in Belcastro itself, describing them as a constitutional right for its citizens.
And his decree has generated widespread media coverage – as well as an outcry over healthcare funding in Italy.
Political mismanagement and mafia interference have devastated Calabria’s healthcare system, which has been under special administration from the central government for nearly 15 years.
Eighteen hospitals in the region have closed since 2009.
Almost half of Calabria’s two million residents now seek medical treatment outside the region, and in response to the crisis, Cuba sent 497 doctors to work in various medical facilities over three years from 2022.
Regional governor Roberto Occhiuto said last year these Cuban doctors had “saved” Calabria’s hospitals.
Local residents told media that Mayor Torchia had “done the right thing in shining a light on the issue.”
“He has used a provocative decree to attract attention on a serious problem,” one said.