Another 1,900 patients without medical assistance in the Alto Oristano area after Dr. Manuela Pitzalis stopped practicing in the area on 31 December and moved to another province. He had a clinic in Ghilarza, but counted among his patients citizens of other towns in Guilcier and Barigadu.
A nasty surprise for her clients who, from one day to the next, found themselves without a general practitioner and this despite the doctor's communication to the local health authority dating back to October. For its part, the health authority assures that it immediately issued an announcement, but it was abandoned . And now we will have to rely on Ascot. There were many protests and inconveniences from patients.
«Since December 31st we have been without a doctor and without receiving any communication from the ASL – highlights Mariangela Corona, 62 years old from Ghilarza -. We all have the right to assistance and there are those who have even greater needs because they follow life-saving therapies."
Harsh words from Giuseppino Canu, provincial secretary of Fimmg : «The situation is serious. It was known for over two months that the colleague would be leaving and nothing was done other than a notice which produced no results. Doctors don't look for each other like that. Young doctors could be involved, offering incentives, or retired colleagues could be brought back temporarily and would be available. This morning I filled out many prescriptions for patients who weren't mine, who were left without assistance but we can't go on like this. And the solution cannot be the medical emergency or the Ascots which are not working as they should."
Canu insists: “For years we doctors have been raising the alarm about what would happen now, but we have not been listened to. The commitment on the part of the local health authority had to be different. The further risk is that now even the doctors present in the area, overloaded with work, will abandon the profession." For his part , the manager of the ASL Angelo Maria Serusi explains: «We took action immediately, proposing a tender through Ares. It's not a problem of time, but of doctors who don't want to go to the area . It's like this throughout Italy. Precisely to make up for these situations we have activated the Ascots, which are a palliative and on a voluntary basis. We have now already asked for availability from the doctors who serve in Ascot to guarantee at least another two, or rather three, days of opening in Ghilarza. We hope they accept."
