Service suspended, a seriously ill patient left home without treatment: Pietro is the first "victim" of the ASL chaos.
An administrative short circuit cancels home care for critically ill patients.
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It's August. Cities are slowing down, offices are emptying, diaries are becoming light. But illness doesn't take a vacation. It hasn't for twenty years with Pietro Demuru, 76, a former police officer with advanced Parkinson's disease, bedridden, with a tracheostomy, PEG, and 24-hour ventilation . A few days ago, however, his situation worsened: no more specialist nurse, no more doctor, no more home care. Only silence and uncertainty. All this is not due to a clinical error, but to an administrative mix-up.
A dispute between Cagliari's Local Health Authority (ASL 8) and specialized healthcare workers who, for a year, have been working in critical conditions without adequate compensation for their extra work. The result: the nurses have said enough is enough. They've declared a state of unrest. And now, approximately 130 Sardinian families risk being left without care. Pietro Demuru is the first victim of this serious short circuit.
The nurse who was caring for Pietro's wife, Ester Onnis, sent the informal communication: the service is suspended, there are no alternatives available, and there's no resumption date. The reason: an administrative issue between the local health authority and the nurses. No official action, no advance notice, no replacement.
"They told us that neither the specialist nurse nor the doctor will be coming anymore, which means my husband would have to be taken to the hospital to have his tracheostomy tube or PEG changed. But he's permanently bedridden. He can't be moved. It's crazy," says Ester.
The family, already under pressure for years, was left without advanced healthcare support , having to manage procedures at home that would require a hospital team: monthly tracheal changes, ventilation management, PEG changes, emergency interventions.
"Basically, the prospect is the end of life," Ester continues, "because they're taking everything away from us. The nurse, the doctor, our security. We can't do it alone."
The Nursind union was the first to report the risk , citing the lack of compensation for the extra services provided by specialist nurses in home care for critical care patients. These services are essential, but considered "additional" to the total number of hours and therefore have not been paid by the Local Health Authority (ASL 8) for over a year.
"Patients' rights—to care, assistance, and protection—are being undermined by unfulfilled duties toward healthcare workers," Ester insists, "and amid this chaos, the suspension of services was announced verbally, without a shred of documentation, in August, amid widespread silence."
Beyond the outrage, there remains the absolute void of a system that hasn't provided a Plan B. No alternative services, no connection with the hospital, no care taken by healthcare facilities. The family finds itself alone, with a patient in critical condition and no room for improvement .
"They've dumped everything on our shoulders, as if we could act as doctors, nurses, or technicians. But we're just a family trying to keep alive a man who's already paid everything to life and the state."
