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Code of Ethics

 

Not a moral license nor a sheet of paper to be handed out in the name of some regulation, but simply a clearly defined commitment to lend credibility to a project and win over trust, in particular among those who need treatment and come into contact with our organization. The decision of Gruppo Villa Maria S.p.A. (hereinafter GVM) to discuss, investigate, approve, and disseminate knowledge of their code of ethics was not easy, since there was concern that this would be interpreted as just a set of principles, inapplicable in practice, especially considering that this decision arose within a private health company, entities that even today are seen with a degree of suspicion and perplexity by some people. What lent force to this decision was my firm personal conviction, and that of everyone at GVM, that we have a specific responsibility to explain our mission, formally and publicly stating how we intend to fulfil it. For this reason our code of ethics, the culmination of a series of deeds and regulations designed to coherently regulate our organization and operations, is intended as a message and commitment by GVM in relation to all those who come into contact with our company and facilities, a commitment in particular to our patients, considering that the protection of health represents a primary necessity, requiring the dedication of resources and know-how. We aim to give social value to the company and ethical content to our actions, based on the work of everyone involved, regardless of the formal position of each individual within the organization. For GVM, managing a company with a social role, also means teaching decisional consistency through the credibility of a project that, particularly in health care, must strive to satisfy both the needs of users and the expectations required by health bodies, these being inspired above all by values, over and above financial interests. The commitment assumed here by GVM formally and publicly is to pursue these objectives in the awareness of the responsibilities born by a large company, and in the conviction that only strict compliance with behavioural ethics can permit us to operate coherently within the founding values that have always inspired the company. Today there is an ever greater need to trace back individual actions, and thus also the various company endeavours, to an overriding project and context that explicates the underlying objectives pursued, and this is effectively the ultimate aim of our code of ethics.

The Chairman
Ettore Sansavini

AIMS

GVM decide to adopt the present Ethic Code in order to confirm how respect for ethical and moral principles represents a guarantee for the development of the Group itself, and in relation to all those who, for various reasons, come into contact with the company, our facilities and all our collaborators.

The code of ethics thus represents the main supporting pillar for the Group’s activities, to which everyone must abide during day to day work and when carrying out their assigned duties, in the awareness that only full compliance with the code of ethics will enable the Group to sustain and increase its credibility and reputation in the various contexts in which we operate, and in the conviction that company activities can and must be conducted in harmony with the social implications of the same.

HEALTH CARE ACTIVITIES

GVM’s main operative sector is health care and for this reason we attribute particular importance to respecting the dignity, rights, and expectations of patients both in their collaboration with the medical and scientific community, and in scientific research, to which we dedicate significant resources.

GVM identify the dialogue and collaboration with public citizens and their voluntary social organizations as an important resource in order to best fulfill our function and for this reason we support the various types of voluntary social organizations.

GVM are aware that in the health of human beings there is no space for error or approximation and that scientific rigor and compliance with ethical principles must take precedence over all other interests in all the company’s business activities.

By acknowledging the constitutional value of the right to health and the essential need for an efficient and articulated public health service, GVM present themselves as subjects participating in the health system, guaranteeing qualified and timely treatment, and striving to exploit existing resources and efficiently program the use of the same.

THE COMPANY ACTIVITIES

GVM are well aware that the good operation of a company’s activities is founded on fair and honest exchange.

GVM operate in good faith on the market.

In this respect personal details of any type regarding customers, suppliers, or competitors must be obtained only by licit means, and intellectual property rights of third parties (patents, know-how, trade marks) are respected in all circumstances, excluding any actions denigratory of competitors or that cast discredit on their performance or image.

SENSITIVE INFORMATION – CONFIDENTIALITY

The particular nature of GVM’s principal activities makes it important not to permit divulgation of sensitive information to third parties, considering the harm that could result from this to patients and for the Group’s activities.

The Group thus ensures the protection of personal details, guaranteeing the individual’s right to regulate the collection, use, divulgation, and recording of said details.

EMPLOYEES AND COLLABORATORS

GVM are aware that in their relationships with all those, in different roles, who collaborate with them in their diverse activities, they must be dedicated to fully respecting individual rights, guarantee safety and health in the workplace, and encourage dialogue, communication, professional development and respect for privacy. on the strength of this the Group undertakes to establish relations with employees and collaborators based on trust, excluding all forms of discrimination, for any reason, and any behaviour harmful to the dignity of individuals.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

GVM ensure equal opportunities for employment, training, remuneration, assignment of tasks, and career opportunities, on the basis of personal skills and abilities.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Within the ambit of their professional activity, every employee and collaborator has the duty of acting solely in the interests of GVM, abstaining from any personal interest or advantage, direct or indirect, both on their own behalf or on behalf of persons close to them.

employees and collaborators must not accept any payments or favours, other than purely symbolic, from third parties that sustain commercial relations with GVM or that aim to establish the same.

CORRUPTION AND ILLICIT PAYMENTS

GVM prohibit corruption and illicit payments. consequently, no form of payment, direct or indirect, may be made or even offered, with the purpose of influencing the behaviour of a public body.