GPs in Sardinia: special recruitment drive for 561 vacant posts
Particular attention is paid to areas where a shortage of doctors makes it more difficult to ensure continuity of care
An extraordinary call for applications for general practice, covering 561 vacant posts across Sardinia. The initiative comes from the Regional Government, and this special call for applications was launched following a review carried out by the Regional Department of Health, based on the needs identified by the health authorities and the criteria set out in the new National Collective Agreement for General Practice dated 15 January 2026. The need to proceed with a new call for applications for the vacant posts was also endorsed by the Regional Committee for General Practice, which met on 4 September.
Vacant positions
To be precise, there are 157 vacancies in the Cagliari Local Health Authority, 116 in the Sassari Local Health Authority, 78 in the Nuoro Local Health Authority, 65 in the Oristano Local Health Authority, 62 in the Gallura Local Health Authority, 40 in the Sulcis Local Health Authority, 34 in the Medio Campidano Local Health Authority and 9 in the Ogliastra Local Health Authority. The call for applications covers both the main urban centres and numerous municipalities in the island’s inland and outlying areas. Among the areas with the highest number of vacancies are Cagliari and the wider Cagliari area, Sassari, Quartu Sant’Elena, Olbia, Alghero, Nuoro and various areas in the Oristano region.
Particular attention is paid to areas where a shortage of doctors makes it more difficult to ensure continuity of care. The call for applications identifies, in addition to the locations for which there is a specific obligation to open a practice, the areas eligible for the allowances provided for disadvantaged areas and those introduced for areas that are temporarily disadvantaged due to a shortage of healthcare provision. In the cases provided for by regional legislation, the two forms of incentive may be combined.
Focus on disadvantaged areas
“The measure forms part of the process launched by the Region with the new Regional Supplementary Agreement on General Practice, approved in 2025,” the Department of Health states, “which has strengthened the measures designed to make practising the profession more attractive in areas that are most difficult to cover. In particular, the regional system provides for additional financial incentives to encourage doctors to settle and remain in disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged areas, and to support participation in new organisational models for local healthcare.”
Who can apply
The allocation procedure will be managed by Ares Sardegna. In accordance with the order and requirements laid down in the National Collective Agreement, the following are eligible to apply: doctors requesting a transfer from other health authorities, those included in the regional ranking list valid for 2026, professionals holding a diploma in specialist training in general practice and, in the cases provided for by the legislation, also doctors currently undertaking the specialist training course. For transfers, up to one third of the available posts in each healthcare organisation may be filled in this way.
