"Out of control." This is how Aldo Salaris, regional councilor for the Sardinian Reformers, describes the situation at the Neurosurgery Department at the University Hospital of Sassari. "Today," he states, "the department is effectively closed for emergencies and operates with just two doctors: the director and a medical director. This is a dramatic situation, which puts at risk those who, from the emergency rooms in Sassari, Alghero, and other local facilities, will have to be transferred to Nuoro or Cagliari."
Salaris claims to have already questioned the regional council on the issue, noting that official data shows that, despite a planned staffing of 16, the department has only five permanent specialists, three of whom are absent due to long-term illness and exempt from night shifts and on-call duties. In practice, this represents a structural shortage of approximately 65%. "The result," Salaris emphasizes, "is a department stretched to the limit, lame, and with professionals subjected to grueling shifts. We had already exposed the risk, and today there is no more time for analysis or statistics: the Todde council, and in particular Councilor Bertolazzi, must respond with concrete and decisive action."
The Reformists representative also highlights some, in his view, contradictions, such as the request for support from the medical directors of Neurology at the AOU of Sassari was denied due to an alleged lack of affinity between the two disciplines, while it appears that on several occasions, additional coverage for neurosurgeons from other hospitals was provided by a neurologist. "It is incomprehensible," Salaris continues, "why this possibility is denied in Sassari. Nevertheless, the Sassari Hub has continued to operate during the summer months, even recording an increase in highly complex procedures, with unsustainable commitments and enormous clinical and medico-legal risks. It is unacceptable that a vital healthcare facility in central and northern Sardinia should be left in this state of absolute precariousness."
