The health situation in Medio Campidano "is serious" and the consequences for the population "are dramatic". Medical services closed for the holidays, a hospital - that of San Gavino - that cannot handle the impact and assistance in Ascot that is insufficient. People's lives are at stake. For this reason, all the mayors of the area have signed an open letter to request "an urgent meeting with the regional health councilor and with the heads of ASL 6 to discuss the strategies to adopt in the short, medium and long term".
The mayors' statement is a "public denunciation of the serious health situation that is affecting the territory, aggravated during the recent Christmas and New Year's holidays".
In recent days , "there have been numerous cases of failure to cover the shifts of the Medical Guard, leaving citizens of several communities without an essential health service. In Guspini and Serramanna , the situation was particularly critical from 31 December 2024 to 3 January 2025, while in other municipalities - including Gonnosfanadiga, Pabillonis, Segariu, Arbus, Villamar, Lunamatrona and Barumini - the disruptions continued until 2 January".
Similar problems had also been encountered during the Christmas holidays, "with dramatic consequences for the population".
These disruptions, the document states , "have generated significant inconvenience, particularly for the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, who are often unable to reach alternative facilities or go to the emergency room at the San Gavino Monreale Hospital. The congestion of the latter has further aggravated an already precarious situation, with long waits and an unsustainable workload for healthcare personnel."
The mayors denounce the progressive deterioration of basic health care, "marked by a chronic shortage of general practitioners (GPs) and by an increasingly massive recourse to Asap/Ascot clinics, which are unable to guarantee the doctor-patient relationship of trust or to respond promptly to the needs of the population".
Hence the request for an urgent meeting by the mayors "exasperated by the constant complaints and concerned for the well-being of their communities", but also some operational proposals.
Here they are:
- Increase in allowances for critical holiday shifts to make the Medical Guard service more attractive.
- Reorganization of the Medical Guard facilities, ensuring continuity of care during the most delicate holidays.
- Implementation of dedicated ambulances (INDI) in each territorial facility.
- Possibility of free access to nearby facilities belonging to different ASL, without a ticket.
- Summer enhancement in the Marina di Arbus, with the guarantee of a medical facility for the months of high tourist influx.
- Improvement of ASAP/ASCOT facilities, providing them with adequate spaces for waiting patients.
- Incentives for the training of general practitioners, eliminating constraints that hinder access to specialization courses.
- Use of available financial resources to increase the hours of ASAP/ASCOT services.
- Involvement of retired doctors, to cover the extraordinary shortages of GPs.
- Administrative and nursing support in ASAP/ASCOT clinics to ease the bureaucratic burden on doctors.
- Adjustment of substitute doctors' allowances, to encourage access to the profession.
"We can no longer tolerate our citizens suffering from such serious disruptions, which compromise their right to health", the mayors say, "An immediate discussion is needed to find concrete solutions and guarantee a dignified and effective health service. We trust in the sensitivity of the Region and the ASL to listen to our requests and take charge of these problems that can no longer be postponed".
Enrico Fresu