Incentives for mobility within local health authorities (ASL) and fixed-term contracts : these are the cornerstones of the plan the Region will use to address the demise of paid doctors , who in Sardinia, over the past two and a half years, have both plugged the gaps in emergency rooms and significantly impacted public coffers. With €328.95 million spent on healthcare personnel between 2024 and 2025 (according to the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), Sardinia leads the Italian region by a wide margin: Lombardy is second with €207.39 million, and Piedmont third with €156.78 million.

Until last February, the MST Group and the Amaltea cooperative provided the payroll doctors. Then only the former remained: "About 100 doctors, for a total of 1,000 shifts per month," explains Dr. Matteo Zanella, founder and CEO of the Vicenza-based company. The agreement with the Region expires today : at 12:10 a new phase begins, fraught with uncertainty. What will happen tomorrow in the emergency rooms of Tempio, Olbia, La Maddalena, Sorgono, Bosa, Ghilarza, and Oristano, which are most dependent on payroll doctors? And what about Nuoro, San Gavino, Iglesias, Carbonia, Muravera, and Isili?

The picture is alarming.