MEETING 28 OCTOBER 2017 IN MONTEGROTTO TERME FINAL DOCUMENT

MEETING 28 OCTOBER 2017 IN MONTEGROTTO TERME
FINAL DOCUMENT

Montegrotto Terme, in the province of Padua, hosted a meeting of the international spa business associations, organized by OMTh (World Hydrothermal Organization), under the guidance of its President, Ennio Gori. The meeting gathered delegates from all over the world, e.g. Latin America (Argentina and Brazil), Morocco, Slovenia, China, Spain, Portugal and Greece, representing the most important international spa and health organizations:

OMTH – SITH – ETTHA – ISMH – ESPA - ALATH

Two delegates of the Italian national Parliament -Mr. Edoardo Fanucci and Mrs. Vanessa Camani - attended the meeting, as well.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Iles Braghetto, former member of the EU Parliament and rapporteur for the EU Directive about patient mobility and health care developments in the EU, and OMTh President, Ennio Gori, recalled the long and difficult birth of EU Directive 24/2011 about patient free circulation in the EU also relating to hydrothermal care.
In his speech Mr. Gori highlighted how for the time being only 8 out of 28 EU Member States have included hydrothermal care in the services provided by their national healthcare systems.
Both speakers stressed the compelling need to make every effort at all levels to ensure the inclusion - and the financing - of hydrothermal care in the national healthcare systems of all EU Members.
Mrs. Camani and Mr. Fanucci discussed the state of the art of the new law relating to the reorganization of the spa industry: at the moment, the law is being finalized by the Chamber of Deputies, waiting for the further final approval by the Senate - hopefully before the end of this legislature.
All participants have put great emphasis on the importance of qualitative improvement in the range of the hydrothermal and spa services. They also focused on the new approach of ‘promoting and maintaining health’ as key objective of a new culture, in which the spa industry will play a crucial role.