Sardinia: over 25 million to support emergency rooms

New economic resources for Sardinian emergency rooms and the go-ahead for the allowance for doctors and emergency-urgency operators. The Sardinian Regional Council has approved the allocation of resources for the first-aid allowance for the medical management staff and the sector of the Regional Health Service, with an economic intervention of more than 25 million euros for the three-year period 2023-2025, destined to concretely support the island's emergency-urgency departments.

"With this measure," emphasises Region President Alessandra Todde, "we are putting in place important and long-awaited resources that will provide concrete support for doctors, nurses, and emergency room operators and give a first strong signal to unblock a difficult situation that has been affecting Sardinia's emergency-urgency services for some time. The president, who is in charge of the Health Department on an interim basis, adds that 'working on the front line means strengthening the hospitals' response capacity, making these departments more attractive, and building the conditions for improving the general organisation of hospital care.

The allocation concerns resources already provided for and progressively increased by the national legislation in the past years, which the Region is now allocating to the companies on the basis of the staff employed in the emergency rooms. In detail, 5,840,220 euros are allocated for 2023 (3,798,480 euros to the sector and 2,041,740 euros to the medical management), 8,914,020 euros for 2024 (5,797,680.03 euros to the sector and 3,116,339.97 euros to the management) and 10,450,920 euros for 2025 (6,797,280 euros to the sector and 3,653,640 euros to the management).

The resources are distributed among all the companies of the regional health service on the basis of the number of operators permanently on duty in the emergency rooms, with significant allocations to the main emergency departments such as Arnas Brotzu, AOU of Cagliari and Sassari, and to the local health authorities of the various territories, according to uniform criteria already shared with the trade unions.

"The allowance is intended for employees, both fixed-term and permanent, who are actually employed in the emergency services," emphasise the councillor's office, "and at first aid stations, with the aim of recognising the special working conditions and making these strategic departments more attractive.