Alzheimer's: Free Health Care for the Sick

of high degree, must be paid by the National Health System (SSN) and not burdened on the pockets of relatives of the sick. This was established in principle by a ruling by the Court of Florence regarding the payment of the fees of the RSA and of the hospitalization facilities to be paid by relatives of Alzheimer's patients, made known to the Konsumer association for the defense of consumers' rights.

The experience of assisting and living alongside a person with Alzheimer's or other degenerative diseases, such as senile dementia, is particularly difficult to manage in everyday life, often traumatizing for family members. As the disease progresses, memory loss occurs. worsens and suddenly even recognizing one's husbands or wives or children becomes impossible. Continuous socio-health and medical assistance is needed. dynamics of daily life, to which are added the economic expenses to be incurred relating to the payment of fees in authorized nursing homes.

Disease progression and ongoing care

As the disease progresses, cognitive functions fail. Alzheimer's disease affects, in fact, a person's ability to carry out the simplest daily activities, affecting brain areas that control functions such as memory, thought, speech. The onset of the disease is often subtle and underestimated. As it progresses, however, the individual has difficulty in carrying out normal daily functions, forgets easily (especially recent events and people's names), has language difficulties and can also show behavioral disturbances.
In some subjects affected by Alzheimer's disease, hallucinations, eating disorders, incontinence and walking difficulties may also occur in the most severe and advanced stages.

or from severe senile dementia. The sentence comes following the appeal presented by the niece of a patient with Alzheimer's hospitalized in an RSA belonging to the "Azienda Pubblica di Servizi alla Persona di Firenze Montedomini, which had received an injunction from the family's hospitalization facility for non-payment of the The sentence of the Court of Florence issued on December 29, 2020 revoked this injunction, declaring the contract containing the commitment assumed by the niece to be null and void, and condemning the public service company Firenze Montedomini to the return of the hospitalization fees paid until that moment.

. Therefore, also according to the D.P.C.M. of 14.2.2001, the entire costs of social assistance services with high health integration, such as those necessary for Alzheimer's patients, are borne by the NHS, for which the RSA fee therefore becomes totally free.