Doctors and health workers on the Gonnesa coast, between Fontanamare and Portopaglia, have intervened to help swimmers more than 150 times in two months : some go to the 118 emergency service for wasp stings and sea urchin spines, or for heat-related illnesses, to the calls from the eight control centers for medical emergencies on the beach or for danger of drowning.
The six doctors who work in rotation on the Gonnesa coastline, coordinated by Dr. Carlo Ferrara, are an added bonus to a three-and-a-half-kilometer-long beach frequented by thousands of swimmers.
A permanent presence for at least twenty years, until now paid for with municipal funds. Starting this year, the beach doctor is part of a project funded by the regional Civil Protection: €166,000 to cover, in addition to the doctors, the lifeguard service with an on-call system based in Plagemesu, and the disabled access ramps with specialized assistance from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Fontanamare and Plagemesu.
Furthermore, this year, several operational resources have arrived from the Civil Protection Department. The goal is to immediately address the problem, avoiding, where possible, the need for ambulances or air rescues. "It's an experimental project, funded by the Civil Protection Department, with the collaboration of Areus, Sosago, and the Municipality," explains Mayor Pietro Cocco. "For us, the presence of a doctor has always been essential on such a vast coastline. The Civil Protection Department would like to extend the model to other beaches in Sardinia."
The full article by Antonella Pani in L'Unione Sarda, available on newsstands and the Digital App today.
abbonati.unionesarda.it/Edicola
