In January 2023, the Brotzu emergency room registered 5153 patients. «Of these, 3722 were green or white codes. That is, people who should never have gone to the emergency room and got there with 118 or by their own means. It is evident that these patients do not find an answer in local medicine and we must intervene on this ». Thus, with the numbers and their causes , the regional councilor for health, Carlo Doria, tries to explain the reasons for the chaos registered in the emergency rooms of Cagliari (and beyond) in recent months : too many accesses, due to the lack of filter on the territory, with the consequence of long waits and the paralysis of the ambulance system.
The commissioner was heard by the Health Commission of the regional council, which began the informal examination of the Territorial Emergency Emergency Plan, approved by Areus: it is the act that organizes the 118 (now 112) stations throughout Sardinia and guarantees, or should do so, timely interventions throughout the territory.
The general manager Cinzia Bettelini explained that "the territorial network of 112 is almost always made up of basic, non-medical operators, and for this reason the ambulance is sent to the nearest hospital, given that the staff is lay even if trained" . This also contributes to clogging up hospitals: since there are no doctors on ambulances, hardly anyone takes the responsibility of not taking the patient to the first available health facility.
On the new territorial network, Areus' number one said that «there are basic and advanced stations, new trained doctors are needed. For this reason, on March 10, a competition announcement for resuscitators destined for Areus will be published in the Official Gazette, who will have to operate both in the ambulance and in the station and on the helicopter».
For the group leader of the Progressives, Francesco Agus, «depending on the choices that will be made with this plan, another fifteen million euros will not be enough. And in the meantime we also ask ourselves specific questions: how is it possible to remove the medical ambulance from Sarroch, that is, where there is a very significant industrial activity?».
But criticisms have also come from the majority. The Sardinian group leader Franco Mula is tough: «All the critical points of this draft approved by Areus are confirmed, which has already achieved one result: to make the mayors and the populations of Baronia quarrel. Or in the Nuoro area, where Desulo doesn't have 118 and it's better that we don't say how long it takes to get there with an ambulance in case of bad weather. And I'm not talking about snow."
The Sardinian leader continued: "We are available to collaborate but given that the small Sardinian hospitals are in difficulty, why don't we invest to guarantee an ambulance in permanent service where it is needed?".
Henry Fresu
