Service 118, Third Sector bodies against the Region and Areus: «Ok to the new plan without consulting us»
The emergency services bodies reject the reorganization of the emergency on the island: «Parameters distorted, stations closed, drivers up to 70 years old driving and a reduction in reimbursements that leaves us perplexed»
The Third Sector Organizations that in the 118 Emergency Service in Sardinia are on a war footing.
What triggered protests and controversy were the two resolutions , proposed by the regional health councilor Carlo Doria , which concern - explains a note from the same organizations - "the world of health emergencies, managed in Sardinia by Areus ".
These resolutions, the organizations complain, "distort the fundamentals of the 118 service currently in place, without caring in the slightest about the opinion of the Third Sector Bodies that support the emergency health service in Sardinia, 80% of which".
In particular, «resolution no. 4/59, redesigns the territorial plan and the current operational resources, providing for the
closing of stations and opening of new ones, with goniometric precision, but without any consideration of the territorial realities that historically exist and have always supported the 118 system".
Resolution no. 9, art. 49, paragraph 3, introduces, instead, "new criteria of the text of the convention which regulates the basic service carried out by the ETS and, also in this case, without any involvement of the representations".
«This resolution - the organizations add - changes the age parameters of the rescue drivers from 65 to 70 years and, among other things, it is a change requested several times by part of the volunteer representation and never granted by the Region and Areus, with the justification of an alleged incompatibility with the regulations on safety at work, which today instead becomes admissible, strangely three days before the regional elections".
Furthermore, it is underlined, «on the same resolution an agreement is introduced which has, in its object, the possibility of carrying out a self-medical service with only a volunteer driver and 2 operators (doctor and nurse) provided by Areus, therefore with a mixed crew, exploiting, however, what is foreseen for the basic emergency health service with ambulance performed by volunteers only . Precisely on the basis of this type of mixed crew, the Health Councilor, in a somewhat approximate and questionable manner, establishes, for the Self-medication Service, a 40% reduction compared to the current flat-rate economic reimbursement provided for the Basic Service , recognizing , in fact, a flat-rate reimbursement of 60%".
A plan, it is then reproached, «born on the proposal of Areus which, naturally, was careful to take into consideration the concerns raised by the ETS representatives, already expressed in 2022, rejecting the first draft of the project. Therefore, not respecting the provisions of the legislation regarding the co-planning and co-programming phases of the reports ".
In addition to the "lack of involvement", the decision to reduce reimbursements seems to cause greater perplexity.
In fact, the Third Sector Organizations explain: «If he had really considered the real and legal cost of regularly paid staff, the Councillor, instead of reducing the reimbursement, would have had to increase it significantly , both due to the agreement for the new type of service and for the almost 200 rescue stations managed by Third Sector organisations, which operate every day in emergencies".
Finally, the note concludes, "perplexity is inevitable regarding the timing used to approve the resolutions". AREUS – «The Regional Emergency Agency is ready for the great challenge, that of reviving the old rescue network which has been stopped for 26 years », Areus highlighted by communicating the Region's approval to the new Plan , defined, « the result of an in-depth study on activity data, compared with road travel times, flight times of the air ambulance service from the three bases of Elmas, Alghero and Olbia and the reference population, mapping municipality by municipality". All of this, with "the aim of bringing important benefits especially to particularly disadvantaged areas due to the difficulties of road connections".
Furthermore, Areus remarked, «the Plan aims to guarantee optimal coverage and adequate functionality of clinical care pathways in a vast and complex territory like the Sardinian one. This is a historical review which for the first time will provide Sardinia with a new extra-hospital emergency system" .
(Unioneonline/lf)
