Not just strollers, cribs, and prams. The organizers of the all-day protest scheduled for Tuesday, December 9th, in Baratili San Pietro—the many parents of children left without medical care—are calling for tricycles and small bicycles to also be available on the streets. It has also been announced that a document has been prepared to be read during the meeting of mayors of the Oristano health district, scheduled for next Tuesday in Baratili at 12:00 PM, specifically to address this thorny issue. The demonstration organizers are also calling on numerous medical professionals to join the rally, particularly the doctors at San Martino Hospital in Oristano. This issue also concerns them, as those without a doctor must go to the pediatric emergency room. A signature drive will be held, which will then be sent to various organizations.
Most likely, even the prefecture and the prosecutor's office. The parents decided to protest in the square after discovering, in recent days, that only residents of Area 1, which includes the municipalities of Cabras, Oristano, Palmas Arborea, Santa Giusta, Siamanna, Siapiccia, Simaxis, and Villaurbana, can choose the city's new doctor, pediatrician Gaia Serrau. Not everyone else. The local health authority (ASL) hadn't clearly clarified the division of the areas. "Enough," shouted Alessio Fanari, father of two children and one of the protest organizers. "On Tuesday, we will demand entry into the hall. We must face the mayors; they are the highest local health authority. And then we will read the document we have prepared. We urge the mayors to question their positions, as well as the heads of the local health authority (ASL). The problem has existed for years, but it hasn't been resolved. They are the ones who must exercise their powers, not us, who are parents and victims."
The organizers are asking all residents of Oristano to join the protest, not just families left without a pediatrician: "The problem affects everyone," Fanari explains. "They talk about depopulation, and then we lack basic services." The regional Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents, Carla Puligheddu, also weighed in on the issue: "For three years I've been asking the Region to put children's rights on the agenda, but nothing. So far, it's just improvisation and superficiality. I'm away on Tuesday for an appointment, but it's as if I were in Baratili with all the families. The protest is welcome."
