This time, it's not a lack of doctors. The doctor is available, but due to a bureaucratic obstacle, it wasn't possible to renew her contract with the Oristano Local Health Authority. This is why 850 residents of Laconi have been without healthcare for several days. This is a significant problem that should be resolved within two weeks at the latest. In the meantime, those in need of medical care can turn to the Ascot clinics in the province of Oristano. At the end of December, Dr. Elena Sergheeva informed the mayor of Laconi, Salvatore Agiolas, that her contract was about to expire. At that point, the mayor sent a certified email to the Local Health Authority (ASL) to urge immediate action, to prevent much of the town from being left without a doctor. Which, in fact, happened. "I never received a response to that certified email," Argiolas specifies. "I only had concrete news yesterday morning, when, at eight o'clock, I raised the issue again by phone. This is also because I don't count the calls I received from residents who urgently needed a doctor. After several discussions, the service manager, at 2 pm - explains the mayor - let me know that the contract had not been renewed due to a bureaucratic hitch caused by both the ASL and the doctor."
However, it will take a while before the Via Mazzini clinic is fully operational again: "It will take several weeks to definitively resolve the issue," Argiolas explains. "Technical time is needed, and it's beyond the control of the Health Authority." But there's more: "The doctor in question will still be absent for health reasons," the mayor reports, "which is why a replacement will be found. The Oristano Local Health Authority has also announced that it has authorized doctors from the provincial Ascot hospitals to address the needs of Dr. Sergheeva's patients in Laconi. I ask the residents to be patient."
