March 06, 2024 - 09:16

The clinic that offers treatment to the most vulnerable

In Santhià, in the province of Vercelli, thanks to the 8xmille funds to the Catholic Church, the Caritas clinic managed by the “Amospiù” Foundation was born.

It takes care of the health of those who cannot wait or turn to private healthcare, especially the elderly.

Book a visit to a cardiologist or an orthopedist without having to worry about affecting an already precarious family budget and without even having to queue on the waiting lists that often characterize some national health service centres.

In Santhià, in the province of Vercelli, it is possible thanks to an initiative of the diocesan Caritas, through the “Amospiù' – Objective Health Ets” Foundation.

Health care, as essential as food or housing, is sometimes postponed by the most fragile families due to the difficulty in accessing free specialist services within certain timeframes.

It is one of the concerns that the Catholic Church has decided to address through the 8xthousand, for which all that is needed is a signature in one's tax return.

A signature which, however, can make the difference, as underlined by the elderly assisted by the Santhià centre.

“We offer an alternative to the national health service by shortening the time needed for necessary services,” explains Carlo Greco, director of Caritas of Vercelli.

“The Foundation – underlines the director of Caritas – has played a fundamental role over the years in making up for some institutional shortcomings, with the aim of helping sick people with low or no income, in collaboration with the Local Health Authority of the Vercelli area, particularly following the pandemic period, transporting them free of charge to hospital facilities for medical visits and treatments, also alleviating the burden on caregivers.

From this project was born in 2022 the idea of ​​being able to provide an alternative to the National Health Service, increasingly congested by the influx of requests, thus accelerating the times of the services necessary for people in economic difficulty and with a vulnerable health condition that cannot they can afford to access private healthcare".

The new frontier of assistance therefore also passes through volunteer doctors and nurses.

In Santhià, the Caritas service takes care of, for example, several cancer patients.

But it is also possible to carry out specialist medical visits (cardiology, orthopaedics, neurology, endocrinology, diabetology, dermatology, surgery, physiatry), take advantage of a youth psychological consultation, one of the new socio-health emergencies, and projects for patients suffering from Alzheimer's and loss of memory as well as transporting patients for oncology visits.

The clinic is active three days a week and carries out free assistance and medical services.

It looks like a real clinic, with a waiting room and a display that regulates visits.

In addition to volunteer doctors, there are young people who support patients in their most diverse needs.

The recipients of the activities are sick or poor people, elderly people in particular, in a state of economic and social vulnerability.

“Here I find medicines but also company when I need it,” confides an elderly woman waiting for her medical examination.

The project was also carried out in collaboration with family doctors.

“The success of our project - concludes the director of the local Caritas - is based, above all, on three elements: the precious contribution of the 8xthousand to the Catholic Church, the strength of the volunteers and the sensitivity of the specialists.

Thanks to our volunteers and the concrete response of doctors and nurses we are able to continuously guarantee assistance to the most vulnerable who find, in the outpatient clinic, a point of reference for their health".

The project was supported in 2023 with 108 thousand euros from the 8x1000 funds.

Every month, 130 services are carried out including visits and transport (because patients in difficulty are accompanied to visits and then taken back to their homes), ten specialist doctors, and around sixty volunteers.

Watch the video:

Project 8xmille – A medical clinic for the frail and needy.

- Santhià (VC)