A hospital ship to support the fight against the Coronavirus. This is the project being studied by the Italian Navy. The contents of the 2019-2034 long-term plan were recently illustrated by the Chief of Staff Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, during a hearing before the Defense Committee of the Chamber. The hospital ship, according to initial claims, would include 114 intensive care beds.
Hospital ship, an embryonic project
"In this period - explained Cavo Dragone - we have also collected many lessons that have allowed us to develop new operational needs, such as the one to build a new ship with hospital capacity and define the requirement for modular hospitals that can be displaced by ship, through containerized modules. with triage, therapy and sub-intensive capabilities ". The project is still in its infancy, but it seems that the task of carrying it out has already been assigned to Fincantieri. The Italian public company, which operates in the shipbuilding sector, is currently the most important European naval group.
The funding could come from the EIB
Admiral Cavo Dragone also spoke about the financing method to be adopted for the construction of the hospital ship. He explained that the European Investment Bank (EIB) could help with the acquisition of the new hospital ship. This is to alleviate the financial pressure on the Fleet renewal process. Indeed, just recently, the Ministry of Defense announced that the BEI will finance the acquisition of the new major hydro-oceanographic vessel (Niom), intended to replace the old Magnaghi vessel and the two hydrographic units in service.
"A reserve of thrust"
Fincantieri's CEO, Giuseppe Bono, spoke on the hospital ship a few weeks ago before the Defense Committee of the Chamber. During a hearing, he explained that the ship would also acquit military and civil purposes. Furthermore, it would represent a strategic "boost reserve" for the national health system, which can be deployed, where most necessary, along the 8 thousand kilometers of the Italian coast. Bono also pointed out that no nation has this capability and that all hospital ships currently in service in the world are old and close to radiation. This, - he underlined - "would give an extraordinary international value to Italy, a country as known as the central one in the Mediterranean, which would be the only nation to have this valuable asset".
Hospital ship: the model
The Navy would be in charge of providing the support necessary to conduct the ship and ensure its maintenance. The health part should instead be ensured from the outside. The model - anticipated by the Navy - could be the one already adopted for “Nave Italia” of the “Tender to Nave Italia” foundation, the non-profit organization set up by the Marina itself and by the Italian Yacht Club. The latter deals with the training of people with physical, psychological or social discomfort through the so-called "solidarity cruises".
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