At the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison, the infirmaries in the prison wards have been closed for over a year. The suspension, which began on July 15, 2025, for renovations, did not end with the reopening of the facilities.
The most controversial point, according to Consipe (Prison Police), is another: the work is now complete and the facilities are ready, but the infirmaries remain unused. The result is an organizational short circuit that repeats itself every day.
The burden on security services
Until the ward staff are re-established, therapies and services that could be managed on-site continue to pass through the central infirmary. Prison officers are responsible for accompanying and supervising inmates, taking away manpower and time from other institutional services.
The union speaks of a structural increase in workloads: not a temporary emergency, but a routine that is wearing down staff already under pressure.
"It's unacceptable."
National Secretary Francesco De Curtis doesn't mince his words. "It's incomprehensible and no longer acceptable that, more than a year after the closure and with facilities now completely renovated, staff must continue to endure increased workloads for a situation that should have been resolved long ago."
And again: "We cannot continue to witness the paradox of structures that are ready but unused. Organizational inefficiencies cannot always be placed on the shoulders of staff."
What the union is asking for
Consipe is calling for urgent intervention from the prison management, the Prison Superintendent's Office, and the Department of Prison Administration. The objective is to determine why the ward infirmaries are not reopening and to establish immediate deadlines for their full operation. The union is also calling for a concrete review of the organization of services, to reduce the number of people escorted to the central infirmary and restore sustainable work management to staff.
"Prison officers can't continue to be the solution to every organizational problem," De Curtis concludes. "After more than a year of disruption, we need answers, accountability, and action. If the infirmaries have been renovated, they must be used. There's no more time for further delays."
