Naples, department closed for the head doctor's party: the ASL revokes his assignment

The general director of the Naples 1 Local Health Authority, Mario Forlenza, has today revoked the position of director of the Vascular Surgery Unit at the Ospedale del Mare, which was awarded to Dr. Francesco Pignatelli "due to the serious actions he committed, which irreparably damaged the relationship of trust." This occurred in connection with the closure of the department during the night between Friday and Saturday, "coinciding with a party Pignatelli had organized in honor of his appointment." At the center of the resolution of the general director (who had already suspended the head physician) was the matter - which arose from a complaint by the regional councilor of the Greens, Francesco Emilio Borrelli and for which the NAS carabinieri also intervened - of the organization of a party for the assignment received in a venue in the Phlegraean area by the head physician which had determined the closure of the department from 20 pm on Friday 7 July to 8 am the following day and the transfer of four patients to General Surgery. An affair on which a ministerial inspection commission also intervened. The Forlenza provision takes note of the results of the report of the Company Inspection Service and the findings of the investigations of the Internal Commission established by the health management of the new Neapolitan hospital and also reports on the meeting held last Monday with the head physician. Pignatelli, according to what is written in the provision, said: "Given the presence of significant critical issues for the coverage of nursing staff shifts in this period, I considered it appropriate, in the evening for the shift of activity that goes from 20 pm on day 6/7 to 8 am on day 7/7, in order to ensure continuity of care, to support the four patients hospitalized in the Vascular Surgery department, at the General Surgery Unit of the same facility, where there were available beds". And again: “I believe that the only mistake that can be attributed to me is that of not having notified, and therefore formalized in writing, the Health Management of the Hospital, requesting authorization to proceed in this direction. Furthermore, it is not true, and I absolutely deny, that the department was closed with a chain. I would like to point out, however, that this incident did not cause any damage or lack of care to the patients in the ward." However, the Company Inspection Service, among other things, highlighted that the department, on the night between 6 and 7 July, was closed and that "in the shifts presented to the Health Directorate, on the night of 6 July the presence of a doctor in the Vascular Surgery Unit was not foreseen, instead the availability of two doctors was foreseen instead of the single unit". “There were no personnel on duty at the Vascular Surgery Unit during the night between 6 and 7 July 2018,” the provision states. Furthermore, "from the documents acquired and the statements released, the Health Management did not appear to have been informed by Dr. Pignatelli of the closure." The provision explains that "the personnel of the department belonging to the Vascular Surgery Operating Unit were placed off shift or were on vacation or sick, therefore no one was on duty that night". In short, the reports reveal "serious responsibilities on the part of Dr. Francesco Pignatelli, given that the justifications provided do not seem to have convinced him that what happened was a 'pure coincidence' and not, as it seems, preordained due to the coincidence of the celebrations for the appointment he received."