This is what the nurses at the Bellizzi prison in Avellino said after the top management of the local health authority deserted the meeting called for December 10 at the Prefecture with Nursind, the nursing professions union, which last November 10 proclaimed a state of agitation, asking that important organizational and health and hygiene issues detected within the “Antimo Graziano Bellizzi” prison be resolved.
The top management of the ASL of Avellino they deserted the meeting called for December 10th at the Prefecture with Nursind. A delegation from the ASL was present at the meeting, as well as, among the managers of the Avellino penitentiary, Vittorio De Leo, director of the Unit for the Protection of Health in prison, which manages the department that has jurisdiction over the activity of nurses.
However, the absence of the general manager Mario Ferrante prevented the long-awaited appointment from being decisive. The Prefect therefore ordered a second convocation.
We hope that this will happen soon to give clear answers to workers – Nursind says in a note -. The interlocutors present at the table did not give us concrete answers, but confirmed what we denounced.
The nurses have brought to the attention of the prefect not only the staff shortages, but also the worrying working conditions, already highlighted to the ASL, which are creating discomfort and difficulty. The staff currently in force is 14 professionals but this is a small number compared to the prison population. In the face of 650 inmates, there are only two nurses on shift.
Another priority issue put on the table by the unions is the restriction in the supply of running water during the night hours, which would be missing from 23 pm until the morning. This would be a long-known disservice, due to the structural inadequacy of the water system.
At night, nurses are therefore not able to use the toilets and, in particular, to wash their hands – explains Nursind -. It is the main procedure that health workers must apply to avoid contagion, to protect their own health and that of their patients, he specifies, illustrating the reasons why this problem is not at all negligible.
The issue of understaffing and lack of water exploded last October 22, when at night the two nurses on duty rescued a young Neapolitan, detained in the Common Crimes section, who had suffered a brutal attack by other inmates.
On that occasion, the two nurses reported that they had not been able to use running water to disinfect and treat the numerous injured in the brawl that had broken out after the beating.
It is a situation to which the prefect has shown himself to be very sensitive, concludes the union, hoping that the ASL manager will be present at the next meeting.
On the basis of the above and by order of the Public Prosecutor on duty, the man, having completed the formal procedures, was taken under arrest to the Salerno prison, at the disposal of the AG. On 9 December, the investigating judge at the Court of Nocera Inferiore validated the arrest and ordered the application of the precautionary measure of house arrest with electronic monitoring.
Article published on 13 December 2024 - 13:32
