The President of the Region appeals to all Sardinian citizens: those who cannot attend a scheduled specialist appointment should cancel, and do so in good time, to give someone else the opportunity to have that space, and to make the healthcare system function more efficiently.

Solidarity and active patient participation are also needed to resolve critical issues, but unfortunately, "no-shows" are just a drop in the bucket when compared to the overall waiting list picture. These waiting lists—according to the latest official data released—are still extremely long. For example, an average of 118 days is needed for a cardiology appointment (with peaks of 301 days in the Ogliastra Local Health Authority); a year and two months for a colonoscopy (with favorable conditions like Sassari and Oristano, where the wait is about two weeks, and others, like Nuoro, where it exceeds a year and nine months). These are procedures classified as "deferrable," meaning they must be performed within 30 days.

The numbers

"In the first half of 2025, there were 125,000 cancellations, 30% of which occurred the day before or on the day of the appointment," continues Alessandra Todde. Furthermore, 57,800 Sardinians didn't show up at all. "This behavior has a significant impact on the health of Sardinians: 100,000 appointments that cannot be rescheduled and made available for other people in need of care."

There's been much talk of introducing sanctions, such as making those who "miss" their appointments pay the ticket anyway. In several regions, this is one of the strategies adopted to get people back on the path to education, but in our country the measure is still on paper.

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