Absenteeism at the Alà dei Sardi clinic: a doctor ordered to pay €50,000 to the local health authority.

The Court of Auditors has ordered an orthopedic surgeon to pay nearly €50,000 to the Olbia Local Health Authority (ASL). The specialist had been reported by the Carabinieri of the Ozieri Company for alleged absences from the emergency medical service in Alà dei Sardi. The officers reported approximately thirty working days, for which the specialist would have been paid by the Gallura Local Health Authority (ASL). The accounting judges considered two issues. The first concerns the hours not worked but still paid, resulting in a judgment ordering him to pay approximately €11,000. However, the Court of Auditors also assessed the damage to the reputation of the Olbia Local Health Authority (ASL). The judges wrote: "The unjustified absence from the emergency medical service would have prevented the exercise of a fundamental right. This is even more true in a context like that of Alà dei Sardi, which is characterized by significant logistical difficulties, given the unique geographical location of that town. In the absence of an on-call doctor, the residents of Alà dei Sardi were forced to turn to the emergency medical service of another municipality or to the 118 emergency service, even in particularly critical situations (glycemic crisis, allergic reaction, postpartum hemorrhage). These highly socially disreputable conduct would have seriously damaged the administration's prestige, resulting in a loss of credibility and jeopardizing citizens' trust.