Concern is growing over the future of Child Neuropsychiatry at the Microcitemic Hospital in Cagliari.
The possibility of transferring the department to the Arnas Brotzu Maternal and Child Health Department has raised concerns among the Regional Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents, Carla Puligheddu, who has appealed to Health Councillor Bartolazzi and the Special Commissioner of Local Health Authority 8, Aldo Atzori.
According to Puligheddu, the move risks compromising the right to care for young patients, violating the principle of the "best interests of the child" enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. "Children's physical and psychological well-being must remain at the heart of every healthcare decision," the Guarantor emphasizes. "Organizational or other considerations cannot prevail."
Child Neuropsychiatry is currently an integral part of the Department of Mental Health and Addictions of the Local Health Authority (ASL 8) , which also includes the Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment Services (SPDC), the local mental health centers, the SERDs, and the UOMPIA (Universal Mental Health Unit). This multidisciplinary network, the Guarantor emphasizes, ensures synergy and continuity of care for minors with psychiatric and social disorders, and a transfer would be weakened.
"The consequences for children would be extremely serious," Puligheddu warns, "and the same organizational uncertainty is generating unease and mistrust among healthcare workers, with inevitable repercussions on the quality of care and the peace of mind of families."
The Guarantor therefore calls for immediate intervention by health institutions to clarify the situation and reassure workers and citizens.
(Unioneonline/Fr.Me.)