The Regional Council has chosen the names of the general managers of the health authorities. Not all of them, yet. But the picture has emerged after the meeting convened at Villa Devoto by President Alessandra Todde, who reached a common ground with her Democratic Party ally, following the Constitutional Court's ruling on December 24 that declared the commissioners appointed to dismiss the managers appointed during the Solinas administration to be illegitimate.
There are confirmations for some commissioners and the return of old DGs, plus a few new entries.
These are the names of the first managers.
Aou Ca - VINCENZO SERRA
Aou Ss - SERAFINANGELO PONTI
ASL Nuoro - FRANCESCO TROTTA
ASL Oristano - GRAZIA CATTINA
Medio Campidano Local Health Authority - ANTONIO SPANO
ASL Sulcis - PAOLO CANNAS
Ogliastra Local Health Authority: ANDREA FABBO
Areus - ANGELO SERUSI
Arnas Brotzu - MAURIZIO MARCIAS
In January, following the administrative court's ruling on the appeal of former Sassari Local Health Authority director Flavio Sensi (who had challenged his dismissal with the commissioner's arrival), appointments will be made for the Local Health Authority offices of Cagliari, Sassari, and Gallura (which should be the Democratic Party's appointment). Antonio Lorenzo Spano worked in Sassari, but has been transferred to Medio Campidano.
The president
"This is a political choice made by a united majority, which fully assumes the responsibility of governing one of the most sensitive sectors for people's lives and for regional public finances," says President Alessandra Todde. The appointments, she adds, "align with the commitments made in our policy statements: rebuilding healthcare governance, strengthening public services, and guaranteeing the right to healthcare by overcoming regional inequalities and management improvisation."
The general managers were chosen from among those included in the national list of general managers (Article 1 of Legislative Decree No. 171 of 4 August 2016) and will remain in office for three years from the date of signing the contract.
Who I am
Vincenzo Serra is moving from commissioner to general manager, as are Maurizio Marcias at Brotzu and Angelo Serusi at Areus. Serafinangelo Ponti, now at the AOU of Sassari, had been director of Sirai in Carbonia since July. Francesco Trotta, a Five Star Movement candidate, is an expert in the pharmaceutical sector and will lead Nuoro. Grazia Cattina (Democratic Party candidate) is moving from Nuoro to Oristano. Paolo Cannas managed Brotzu as commissioner, then the Nuoro Local Health Authority, and is now moving to Sulcis. Andrea Fabbo from Campania (listed as a Five Star Movement candidate) arrives from the health directorate of the Asti Local Health Authority.
Criticisms from the center-right
"In Sardinia, a clear plan is underway: quickly close healthcare appointments by December 31st to avoid tax liability, taking advantage of the shield still in place until the end of the year."
Ugo Cappellacci, chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' Social Affairs and Health Committee, stated this in commenting on the strategy outlined by President Alessandra Todde following the ruling on the unlawful administration of Sardinia's healthcare authorities. "After a widespread administration of healthcare authorities, now declared unconstitutional, the Region finds itself exposed to appeals and potential millions of euros in compensation. A predictable consequence of poor decisions. The Regional Council's response is not to take responsibility for what it has done, but to rush to sign documents before the shield expires, so that those who decide are not personally liable for damages, the costs fall on the Region and therefore, ultimately, on Sardinian citizens. This is the political point: those responsible don't pay, the Sardinians pay. They pay for mistakes that weren't theirs, with fewer resources for services and healthcare. This is Grillismo 2.0: administrative blunders, legal protection for those in power, and the final buck-passing on the citizens."
The deputy group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Regional Council, Fausto Piga, claims that "the Five Star Movement's magic pipe has won over the Democratic Party, and there's a truce in the broader arena on the appointment of general directors in healthcare." For now, according to the Melonian, "the partial appointments may well reconcile the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement, but this story won't have a happy ending for the Sardinians, as the financial losses from the illegitimate commissioners remain. Who will pay?"