Ambulances from Nuraminis, Samassi, Villasor, Villacidro, Guspini, Pabillonis, San Niccolò d'Arcidano, Mogoro, and Sanluri: all are stopped, along with their crews, dealing with a nightmare night in the emergency room of San Gavino Hospital. Not only Cagliari, with its Santissima Trinità, Brotzu, and Policlinico hospitals experiencing difficult, almost impossible nights, one night after another: the collapse of the system also affects Nostra Signora di Bonaria.
Except that in San Gavino, space is tighter than in the capital's facilities. And the emergency medical workers who brought in patients, when they multiply due to the constant influx, can't fit inside. So, those who are ill are left on stretchers in the first available space, even in the corridor, but close to floor level. This precaution is designed to prevent accidents: in the event of a fall, the lower height can protect against more serious consequences.
The problem, both in Cagliari and in the Medio Campidano region, is always the same: there are no alternative referral centers for treatment in the area. Patients are always taken exclusively to the emergency room. Local health authority staff struggle with limited staffing, and even though they try to process tests as quickly as possible, the supply chain collapses as soon as an urgent case arrives. Meanwhile, there are no beds available in the various departments.
Emergency crews spend their shifts waiting. And sometimes, the changeover arrives after just one intervention, because everyone remains held hostage in the emergency room: an ambulance arrived from a center in the province of Cagliari—but this is just one of many examples of what happened yesterday in San Gavino—brought the patient in at 2:00 PM. At 8:00 PM, replacements arrived, and the patient was still waiting. The crew was released only at 3:00 AM, thirteen hours after being admitted to the hospital.
The video is obscured for obvious reasons, but it gives an idea of the conditions patients and staff live in (almost) every day.
Meanwhile, ASL 8 Health Director Roberto Massazza announced that "today the situation at the Santissima Trinità Emergency Department in Cagliari, after a difficult few days, has significantly improved, and there are currently five patients waiting for hospitalization. A special thank you," he emphasized, "goes to President Todde, who has consistently provided us with her invaluable support during this difficult time."