In Barbagia-Mandrolisai, which has been experiencing the hardships of station 118 in Sorgono for months, the case of ambulances often leaving without a doctor on board explodes again. This was reported by Franco Virdis (62 years old) who, last Monday, lost his elderly mother Tommasina Pinna, 88 years old, in Atzara, who died following complications from choking on food. For the woman, suffering from various pathologies and hosted by the local integrated community, the rescue efforts of the 118 operators and the intervention of the air ambulance with transport to the San Francesco hospital in Nuoro were of no avail. Shaken by grief, the family speaks of a tragedy that could have been avoided.
The story
«I was returning from work - says Virdis - when the operators of the integrated community alerted me to my mother's serious condition. They explained to me that while he was having lunch he had had a respiratory crisis. Once I reached the town's sports field, where the air ambulance landed shortly thereafter, I found two ambulances, one from San Camillo and the other from a local cooperative, which despite the emergency response were unable to do much. My mother was already intubated and unconscious, due to the presence of rice in her lungs."
The appeal
For Virdis and her brothers Giuseppe and Maria, an immense pain. «We are not pointing the finger at nurses or cooperatives who are doing so much, nor at Areus - clarifies Franco Virdis -. Transporting our mother to the nearest San Camillo with the mechanical suction of rice from her lungs would certainly have given her more hope. When she arrived in Nuoro, the situation was critical and the intensive care unit declared her death shortly after 4pm." Hence the appeal: «118 must be strengthened, otherwise there will be collapse. Many lives will be risked."
Mayor
Mayor Alessandro Corona is furious: «We are horrified by what happened and we express our most sincere condolences to the family. If it were to be confirmed as a case of bad health, someone should feel it on their conscience. As long as there is a conscience."
