Alarm is rising at Arnas Brotzu in Cagliari. At Businco, 28 beds remain unavailable due to staffing shortages, while at San Michele, serious problems are being reported in the departments, particularly in Orthopedics. Gianfranco Angioni, regional representative for USB Sanità , has denounced the situation and is calling on the Region to immediately establish a crisis management committee.
While 28 beds at Businco remain idle due to a dramatic staff shortage, at San Michele the departments are literally collapsing . The most striking example of this disaster is Orthopedics: in addition to patients placed in other areas, we are receiving reports of improper wards being set up in the medical wards and even in the plaster rooms. The inevitable consequence? Endless operating lists and increasingly long waiting times for citizens. All this is happening at Arnas Brotzu, the most important healthcare center in Sardinia, whose stability is crucial for the entire island system. At the same time, the opening of the new operating rooms at Businco remains in limbo, having been transferred to San Michele for over a year and a half without their true fate being known. The Region must intervene without delay: we need an immediate crisis management meeting.
Angioni also emphasizes the daily efforts of the staff: "The effort and continuous support that our professionals provide every day is commendable, extending their work to other hospitals in the regional network to avoid a total shutdown of care. However, this spirit of sacrifice cannot be used as a cover for the serious regional responsibilities that are leading to staff burnout." The USB also announces safety checks for staff exposed to radiation risks in operating rooms.
"Together with our RLS," Angioni urges, "we will initiate a thorough review of the classification of personnel exposed to radiological risk working in operating rooms. We want to ensure strict compliance with current regulations: we do not want to find any anomalies or failures in radiation protection, resulting in the deprivation of proper health surveillance and the right to radiological leave. When it comes to safety and rights, we will not compromise anyone."
On the union front, Fp Cgil Cagliari, Cisl Fp Cagliari, Fials Cagliari, and Ugl Cagliari have declared a state of unrest among all local healthcare workers and are calling for the initiation of cooling-off and conciliation procedures. In the document, they denounce insufficient staffing, unsustainable workloads, and the flight of professionals to other companies. The management of three-year personnel needs plans is also under scrutiny: according to the unions, analysis and approval have been stalled "from November 2025 until August/September 2026."
The systematic use of overtime and additional work to cover regular shifts was also contested: " The now systematic use of overtime and additional work to ensure regular shifts are covered has exceeded all limits of physical and psychological sustainability, effectively denying the right to rest and a work-life balance ."
The announced initiatives include abstention from additional services, strict adherence to working hours, and a series of meetings at hospital facilities. Finally, the unions call on the competent authorities to "convene the parties without delay" and reserve the right, "in the absence of a rapid and concrete response," to implement "any further legitimate form of protest, including a general strike within the company."
(Unioneonline/En.Ne.)