Death Panels: Officials in Hardest Hit Region in Italy Suggest 80-Year-Olds May Be Turned Away if Crisis Worsens

According to The Telegraph officials in the Turin region in Italy drafted a document that says 80-year-old coronavirus victims may be turned away if the crisis worsens.

Italy is the worst hit country in Europe and has more more coronavirus deaths than any country except China where the virus was first documented.

The Turin document is not in effect.
This was drawn up for the city in case the crisis worsens.

Europe and Italy are now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Telegraph reported:

Coronavirus victims in Italy will be denied access to intensive care if they are aged 80 or more or in poor health should pressure on beds increase, a document prepared by a crisis management unit in Turin propose.

Some patients denied intensive care will in effect be left to die, doctors fear.

The unit has drawn up a protocol, seen by The Telegraph, that will determine which patients receive treatment in intensive care and which do not if there are insufficient spaces. Intensive care capacity is running short in Italy as the coronavirus continues to spread.

The document, produced by the civil protection deparment of the Piedmont region, one of those hardest hit, says: “The criteria for access to intensive therapy in cases of emergency must include age of less than 80 or a score on the Charlson comorbidity Index [which indicates how many other medical conditions the patient has] of less than 5.”