Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
“We cannot get used to an emergency within an emergency.” That is the appeal to the institutions from the provincial Democratic Party’s health working group in Syracuse, which has spoken out on the situation at the Umberto I hospital emergency room, expressing deep concern over the shortage of medical staff and the possible impact on the quality of care.
At the heart of the complaint are the figures reported by the online newspaper La Civetta di Minerva, which, if confirmed, paint a particularly critical picture: just five permanent doctors out of the 22 posts, against a backdrop of around 200 daily attendances and a catchment area of 400,000 people.
A situation that, according to the PD working group, demands immediate action and cannot be addressed by continuing to rely on temporary solutions. “This is not just about the shortage of doctors, but about the safety of care, the quality of treatment and the right of citizens to receive adequate responses in their time of need,” the document stresses.
The group also criticises the continuous reliance on locum doctors and ad hoc recruitment. These measures can provide support in exceptional circumstances, but they cannot replace a structural staffing plan. The PD also expresses its solidarity with the doctors, nurses and all healthcare staff, who are forced to work under intense pressure and to make up for organisational shortcomings that cannot be indefinitely offloaded onto them.
The provincial group also contests the narrative around inappropriate attendances at the emergency room. Those who go to hospital because they are unwell, it points out, cannot be treated as a problem to be turned away. To reduce non-urgent attendances, a genuinely efficient local healthcare service must first be guaranteed, with operational Community Health Centres, local services and continuity of care. “We cannot ask citizens not to go to hospital when, all too often, no credible alternatives are offered locally.”
It therefore calls on the provincial health authority (ASP) of Syracuse and the regional health department to clarify the actual size of the medical workforce, how expert professionals are ensured across all shifts, and how less experienced staff are supported. It also demands an emergency plan to recruit specialists in emergency medicine, as well as clear information on the measures taken to protect patients and staff and on the time needed to overcome the current difficulties.
Direct involvement is also sought from the mayor of Syracuse, in his role as the top local health authority, to urgently bring together the ASP management, the regional government and all stakeholders.
The PD’s position is clear: public healthcare cannot continue to chase emergencies; it needs planning, investment and a stable workforce. “We do not want to fuel alarmism, but neither can we accept that a situation of this magnitude is considered normal,” the working group concludes, invoking the constitutional right to health.
