Oristano, children without a pediatrician: meeting between the local health authority and parents

Now two months after the huge protest in Baratili San Pietro, during which the streets were invaded by strollers, something is moving.

Grazia Cattina, General Director of the Oristano Local Health Authority, met today at the company's registered office with a delegation of parents of children without pediatric care. The delegation, composed of Alessio Fanari, Anna Tassara, and Sarah Menouer, and pediatrician Maria Antonietta Grimaldi, who provides the committee with technical and professional support, presented requests and proposals for improving pediatric care in the area.

"A tangible result to date," the families say, "is the effectiveness of the recently appointed pediatrician, Dr. Gaia Serrau, who is progressing with issuing authorizations for young patients residing in other areas."

As for pediatric Ascots , said Alessio Fanari, spokesperson for the committee, " they could represent an immediate, but not a structural, solution to guarantee our children's right to health."

Parents need clear timelines for the activation of emergency clinics, the recall of retired doctors, and the call for applications for new private pediatricians. The delegation also requested faster access to the emergency room for children.

"It would also be appropriate to make underserved private pediatric clinics more attractive," the parents noted. This request has already been addressed at the regional level in the new regional supplementary contract for private pediatric clinics, which provides financial incentives of €1,000 for pediatricians who choose disadvantaged clinics and €1,800 for those who choose extremely disadvantaged ones. Furthermore, the delegation proposed revitalizing Family Counseling Centers, strengthening local facilities in terms of staff and equipment, as well as organizing work in the soon-to-be-established Community Centers, where the work of specialists and pediatricians is more closely integrated. Finally, Dr. Grimaldi added, "Programs should be tested that free private pediatricians from the bureaucratic burden that absorbs much of their time, and professional associations that make their work more effective." These solutions are largely supported by Director General Grazia Cattina, who since taking office has been working towards both a short-term solution, with the activation of pediatric Ascots, and a structural reorganization of primary care that can provide more adequate responses to patients in the medium and long term.

"At pediatric Ascots," the director specified, "pediatricians will operate with specific methods for users with specific health needs, different from those defined for adult Ascots."

Dr. Cattina also highlighted the work being done to improve pediatric fast-track in-hospital care, thereby accelerating the admission of young patients—as requested by parents. These actions are part of a broader plan to reorganize primary pediatric care.