Coronavirus: Italy is letting its aged die without treatment so that the young can be helped, accuses doctor
A doctor has spoken up how many medical practitioners in Italy are being left to choose between treating older patients or younger ones because of a lack of beds and warned that many other countries may end up in a similarly stark situation.
Italy is the country worst-affected by the COVID-19 outbreak outside mainland China and has reported more than 17,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. 1,266 people have died from the disease so far, with most victims aged between 63 and 95 and those suffering from underlying illnesses.
Dr. Max Pemberton, writing in the Daily Mail, said doctors in the northern region of the country, one of the areas hit hardest by the virus, were regularly having to decide whether to allocate someone from this most vulnerable group to intensive care beds, which are scarce, or whether they should prioritize younger patients instead.
Doctors may not even have a choice, with guidelines published by the Italian College of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI) stating "it may become necessary to establish an age limit for access to intensive care."
It is because of these difficult decisions that people like Severa Belotti, 82, and Luigi Carrara, 86, are dying from the virus without getting proper medical treatment.
Belotti and Carrara had been together for 60 years before they tragically passed away within two hours of each other after they were infected with the coronavirus. Their son, Luca, said his parents did not receive treatment despite suffering from a fever of 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and that they were only admitted to Bergamo hospital when it was too late.
He had also criticized the hospital for its handling of the outbreak and alleged the staff "do not know where to put patients, probably because doctors are doing a selection and letting the elderly people leave."
Pemberton said he had noticed this kind of "worrying ageism" a lot in Italy and what while he understood the doctors' difficulties, this kind of treatment was "not acceptable."
"Ageism is the last bastion of acceptable prejudice in society," he wrote. "Phrases such as 'they were old anyway' and 'they've had a good life' are bandied about without thinking about what they really mean. Does your age mean your life is worth less than someone else's?"
"The grim truth is that older people are seen as fair game. It's this despicable attitude towards senior citizens that allows abuse to fester and spread in care homes in a way that would never be tolerated elsewhere."
He conceded that the severity of the pandemic meant the "harsh reality" was "even in rich, developed countries with excellent healthcare and facilities, such chilling decisions must be made" but that "discriminating against patients because of their age is wrong, regardless of the circumstances."
More than 145,000 people in 139 different countries have been infected with the coronavirus across the world, with the death toll crossing 5,000.