Health cannot be a luxury for a few but must be a right for everyone, this is the motto of the ACE clinic in Pellaro, managed by the Calabrese Association of Hepatology, a specialist center of excellence that takes care of 30,000 patients free of charge every year. .
This clinic, which is located in a suburb of Reggio Calabria, seems a miracle in one of the Italian regions unfortunately most affected by medical malpractice.
Every day 20 volunteers work inside it, including doctors, nurses, administrative staff, who for 10 years now, have offered all citizens the opportunity to be treated, according to the principle that everyone has the right to health.
The specialist services offered are truly of all kinds: there is also the possibility of going to the nutritionist and following psychotherapy courses at controlled prices.
There are no fixed rates, no fees or tickets, you can access them only with the prescription of the general practitioner, everyone gives what they can or a free donation, or you can pay nothing if you can’t afford it.
Ten years ago the far-sighted idea of this clinic of excellence was born, from a donation and a group of volunteer doctors who requested and obtained an old abandoned ASL structure on loan for use, the structure has been treated more and more , and expanded with new services and at the moment also includes a library, a park, a study and research center.
Patients come from all over the region, and they are not only people in financial difficulty, but also normal people who find themselves stuck in the face of months of waiting from public health or the too high cost of specialist visits.