Squillace opens 12‑hour local doctor service as Acquapendente opposes guardia medica transfer

The municipality of Squillace in Calabria launched an Aggregazione funzionale territoriale (AFT) at the local Casa della Comunità, providing a doctor for 12 hours a day, Monday through Saturday. The service, a joint effort of the town, the Calabria regional authority and the Asp of Catanzaro, is intended to ease pressure on hospitals and bring health care closer to residents. Mayor Enzo Zofrea called it "an important result for our community" and a step toward more accessible health care.

In the neighbouring region of Lazio, the town of Acquapendente protested the regional health authority’s decision to move the guardia medica from the Acquapendente hospital to the Casa della Comunità in Bolsena. Mayor Alessandra Terrosi and local Democratic Party officials described the move as "a grave and unacceptable depowering" of the hospital and warned it could force patients to travel farther for urgent care. They demanded the reversal of the decision and a meeting with the health authority to protect essential services for the area’s elderly and vulnerable residents.