Sardinia: an extraordinary recruitment drive for 1,000 nurses and 500 doctors

An extraordinary recruitment plan to bring 1,000 nurses and 500 doctors into the Sardinian Regional Health Service to address the critical issues facing the sector. Staff will be recruited on permanent contracts through competitive selection processes and inter-regional transfer schemes. This is set out in the resolution approved by the Regional Executive, which mandates Ares Sardegna to initiate the procedures for the recruitment of 1,500 new professionals into the island’s healthcare system. This is an extraordinary measure to strengthen staffing levels and support the hospital and local healthcare networks.

“We have always said that, in order to truly tackle the critical issues facing our healthcare system, we needed to move beyond the ‘homeopathic doses’ of new staff being brought into hospitals and services,” commented the president and acting regional councillor for Health, Alessandra Todde. “Over recent months, we have been working to send a truly strong and concrete signal: having moved beyond the system of temporary staff, we are now demonstrating through our actions that we are investing in the Regional Health Service and its future.” The measure forms part of the process to strengthen local healthcare services as set out in Ministerial Decree 77/2022 and aims to ensure adequate staffing levels at community care homes, community hospitals and other local facilities, as well as within the hospital network and emergency services.

“With this Plan, we are also providing a clear response to one of the public’s main concerns,” adds the president, “namely that the strengthening of local healthcare services provided for under Ministerial Decree 77 will not be achieved by taking staff away from hospitals or existing services. On the contrary, we are creating the conditions for Community Centres, Community Hospitals and the hospital network to grow together thanks to the arrival of new professionals.” The resolution stipulates that Ares is to initiate recruitment procedures for permanent posts through competitive examinations and inter-regional transfers. For doctors, equivalent and related specialisms will also be considered, with planning aimed at meeting the needs of the local healthcare network, hospitals and preventive care. “Alongside the 1,500 permanent appointments, we are launching an extraordinary and complementary channel for international recruitment involving 450 healthcare professionals, who will be employed on fixed-term contracts over the two-year period 2027–2028, with the possibility of future permanent appointments in accordance with current legislation,” continued the president. “Overall, therefore, we are talking about almost 2,000 new staff members – including doctors, nurses and technicians – who will be joining the regional healthcare system.”

The Regional Procurement Centre will be tasked with launching a tender procedure to identify an operator specialising in technical, institutional, organisational, training and language support services aimed at international cooperation and the mobility of healthcare professionals from non-EU countries.

The international recruitment scheme covers a total of 450 professionals: 200 doctors, 200 nurses and 50 medical radiology technicians, who are to be assigned as a priority to local healthcare facilities in the areas facing the greatest challenges and to the A&E departments identified in the measure.