In the hospital, nurses have to be nurses. They cannot be used for tasks that "mortify" their professionalism. That is, they cannot carry out activities, such as cleaning patients or managing waste, which should be carried out by lower-ranking staff.

Otherwise the health company must pay the damages.

This was established by the Supreme Court, so the judges of various levels have sentenced. And at Brotzu they know it well: the general manager Agnese Foddis had to sign a resolution that allocates the funds to pay the non-pecuniary damages suffered by about twenty nurses who had sued Arnas, through the lawyer Giacomo Doglio.

The provision came following a ruling by the labor section of the Court of Cagliari : each was awarded sums ranging from just over three thousand to over 11,500 euros. For a total of 176,486 euros and a few cents. A sentence handed down six years after the appeal was filed.

It is not the first verdict that fits into this rut. The Sardinian health companies paid dearly for the use of nurses to plug the gaps in the staff because there was a lack of social and health workers.

The professional nurses who have appealed over the years are numerous. And almost all of them have won. A bloodletting, for the coffers of health companies. In this round it was the turn of Brotzu, who had to dent - heavily - the risk provision foreseen to deal with the lawsuits brought by the staff.

© Riproduzione riservata