Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
AVOLA – Inadequate parking, gridlocked traffic at peak times and frequent lift breakdowns. This is the picture of severe logistical and organisational hardship painted by Cisl Fp Ragusa Siracusa regarding the operating conditions and access to Avola’s “Di Maria” hospital, a first-level emergency department (DEA) reference facility for the entire southern area of the province of Syracuse.
It is a complex situation that daily penalises hundreds of citizen-users, who are forced into difficult manoeuvres or to park along the state road and walk to the hospital, as well as workers on duty who face serious difficulties in accessing the facility on time to clock in.
The Cisl Fp complaint: systemic hardship for patients and workers
The person highlighting the critical issues is the general secretary of Cisl Fp Ragusa Siracusa, Mauro Bonarrigo, who points out that the morning flow of vehicles — linked to the emergency room, admissions, outpatient visits, CUP blood tests and blood donors — regularly brings internal and external traffic to a standstill:
“Citizen-users and workers are daily forced to navigate the limited spaces around the hospital, where many find themselves having to make endless, often difficult manoeuvres, wandering in an attempt to find a parking space, which is often only possible on the roads in front of the hospital, then having to walk hundreds of metres on foot across the state road. It is a complex situation for employees and critical for those who need to arrive on time for a scheduled appointment, which becomes even worse in the case of elderly people or those with mobility problems.”
— Mauro Bonarrigo, General Secretary, Cisl Fp Ragusa Siracusa
The union recalls that expanding the parking areas was a predictable and plannable intervention ever since high-traffic departments such as Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Orthopaedics were moved there. Added to this is the serious concern about the upcoming seismic upgrade works, which risk further reducing the available space.
Lift breakdowns and issues on the negotiating table
In addition to the external traffic, Cisl Fp is drawing the attention of the special commissioner of the provincial health authority (ASP) of Syracuse, Alessandro Iraci, to the recurring lift system breakdowns at the hospital, a situation that turns access to the upper floors into a real ordeal for the most vulnerable, from people with motor disabilities to pregnant women.
The union also highlights the need to coordinate logistical priorities with personnel management and digital services:
- Union relations and collective bargaining: The union confirms its presence at the negotiating tables initiated by the special commissioner’s management to address stalled issues.
- On-call availability and overtime: At the centre of the discussions are the regulation of staff on-call availability and the payment of overtime hours that were ordered but have not yet been settled from the previous year.
- Staffing and community clinics: Cisl Fp will request clear data on the real impact of activating community clinics and community hospitals on the primary care network and on the management of outpatient and seasonal services.
