There were moments of tension inside the Santissima Trinità hospital in Cagliari where, in the early hours of yesterday morning, an inmate, who had been sent to the emergency room for a psychiatric consultation, began to rail against the doctor who had refused to increase his maintenance therapy.
The Autonomous Union of Penitentiary Police, through the regional secretary of Sardinia Luca Fais, reports this in a note: "The escort officers tried to calm the man down, but the inmate did not receive this persuasion. The latter, at a later time, attacked one of them, throwing himself with his fists and handcuffs. These were hectic phases, in which the staff, with no small amount of effort but great professionalism, managed to contain the attacker, who continued to bang his skull in the cell of the vehicle, threatening to kill the members of the escort".
The unionist reports that "having assessed the non-urgent conditions, the prisoner was brought back to the institution. This practice has now become constant for those difficult subjects who, in order to leave prison, pretend to be unwell. It is necessary to underline the increasingly complex management of psychiatric and problematic prisoners present in the Cagliari institution where it is hoped that the work clearly undertaken by the new superintendent will bring the desired results".
According to Sappe, regional politics "must take on the commitment to urgently hand over the health detention unit or avoid similar events that have just occurred. It is simply absurd," concludes Fais, "that the detention unit at the Santissima Trinità in Cagliari is used as a warehouse."
For Donato Capece, general secretary of Sappe, «assaults, fights, injuries against staff, as well as brawls and attempted suicides, are unfortunately the order of the day. It is important and urgent for us to provide a new custodial model. It is necessary to intervene urgently to deal with the constant critical issues in Sardinian penitentiaries».
(Online Union)
