Projects

The specialised second level medical services that will be implemented in the Regional Centre for Latium in collaboration with other public health centres are:
a. Prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of migrants, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, homeless and nomads for tropical, imported and infectious skin diseases;
b. Prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of migrants, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, homeless and nomads at risk for sexually transmitted diseases (syphilis, gonorrhoea, chancroid, chlamidia trachomatis infection, venereal lymphogranuloma, inguinal granuloma, condyloma acuminatum, HPV and HIV infections);
c. Due to the correlation between some forms of HPV and cervical cancer, a specific prevention programme will be implemented for this kind of neoplasm. The action is targeted at groups of women belonging to a high-risk category because of their lack of prevention habits;
d. Prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of migrants, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, homeless and nomads at risk for pulmonary disorders (including tuberculosis), atypical mycobacteriosis, gastroenteric, metabolic, urological, dental, ophthalmological and oncological diseases. Preventive medical examinations will be provided;
e. Nutrition advice and prescription of suitable diets for people affected by various pathologies, particularly diabetes mellitus, endocrine and metabolic disorders;
f. Outpatient examinations and dermatological surgery operations;
g. Biological samples collection, analysis and examination. When needed, laboratory and instrumental tests and clinical analysis will be carried out;
h. HIV and STD tests and haematological analysis for iron deficiency anaemia upon informed consent by the person concerned;
i. Assistance and protection of migrant and nomadic women and minors by facilitating their access to the Regional Health System and referring them to the competent territorial health service;
j. Temporary registration in the Regional Health System for undocumented migrants through a STP (Temporarily Present Foreigner) code; support for accessing the health services to foreigners with the right of being registered in the Regional Health System;
k. The multidisciplinary and multicultural staff will provide migrants, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, homeless and nomads with psychological, anthropological and health education support respectful of the different cultures.

During the initial stage of NIHMP, PAC (complex package of outpatient services) and Day Hospital service will be designed in order to meet complex health needs. These activities will be submitted to Latium Region for approval.
Patients in need of hospitalization will be admitted to the IFO Hospitals or to other Regional Health Centres.
In the Apulia and Sicily Centres the creation of a regional network of social and health centres is expected to be planned for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the main pathologies affecting migrants and human mobile population (tourists, international travellers, asylum seekers, refugees and nomads) and for the control of poverty-related diseases. This project should be implemented in cooperation with the territorial services, Regional ASL (Local Health Agencies) and social work associations involved in the field of migration.
The health centres should have the possibility to offer outpatient and specialized diagnostics services. Existing regional medical facilities may be involved through agreement protocols and teleconsulting systems, including the Alliance of the Italian Hospitals Worldwide. This would allow to be in contact with Italian specialized excellence centres in order to obtain a support for diagnosis and treatment in a fast and cheap way and to avoid needless displacements.
It is also necessary to create polyspecialized health centres provided with a multidisciplinary staff including cultural mediators, whose role is to receive and facilitate the access to the Regional Health Systems of Latium, Sicily and Apulia. This would be a way to test, validate and spread multidisciplinary and intercultural health and social services with the purpose to promote timely access and efficiency as well as the respect of the social and cultural identity of the foreign communities and other population groups.
The pilot project is expected to be developed in the outpatient clinic of Lampedusa (Agrigento), this island being in fact the first destination of many migrants from Mediterranean countries. This project should be correlated with the initiative of “San Giovanni di Dio” Hospital aimed at improving the quality of its services and modifying its organizational and professional structure and culture, in order to better meet the needs of the patients and their communities. The following steps are scheduled:

1. Analysis of the current situation in order to:
- Identify the services that the centre can supply, their quantity and quality;
- Obtain an organizational chart of the medical and non-medical staff;
- Quantify the resources of the centre in order to plan possible enhancements and changes in management and services.
2. Creation of a data base in accordance with the methodologies provided by NIHMP, which would allow availability of functional and homogeneous information on migrants’ diseases and the possibility of identifying and preventing risk factors.
3. Planning health, social and cultural training on the basis of the existing professionals and needs.
4. Facilitating approach and communication with foreigners through a cultural mediation service.
5. Creation of a programme aimed at meeting the needs of the foreigners temporarily present in the island.
6. Arrangement of second opinion interventions, second level access and patients’ transfer in appropriate centres for certain diseases, in cooperation with “San Giovanni di Dio” Hospital and NIHMP.