Porto Torres, children without a pediatrician: "Forced into a bureaucratic ordeal."

Forced to travel to ensure pediatric care for their children, or to deal with the slow bureaucracy at the offices of the Andriolu Local Health Authority Outpatient Clinic in Porto Torres.

"An essential service like medical care for children can't be an optional extra in a city this size," laments one parent, one of many who face daily challenges due to the lack of pediatric coverage in their area.

"My niece is four years old and doesn't have a permanent pediatrician of her own choosing," the woman explains. "This is an unacceptable situation that forces parents to go through an endless bureaucratic ordeal at the Andriolu facility, just to fill out applications for pediatricians who become available after perhaps a month's wait."

The pediatricians with currently available positions and close to Porto Torres are those with practices in Sorso (Drs. Roberta Frassetto and Ilaria Durgali) and Sassari (Dr. Marco Ferrari, Dr. Giuliano Tramaloni, and Dr. Elisabetta Alia).

"I ask the competent authorities and the local health authority to intervene immediately to ensure stable and continuous coverage," the woman appealed, "because our children have the right to a trusted doctor, and families should not be forced to tilt at windmills."