Palermo, Zen district. On the night of Friday October 4 to Saturday October 5, following a road accident, a call to 118 was made after 7 minutes. Too long according to some residents of the neighborhood, who are starting to attack doctors and nurses. The ambulance they arrived in was also damaged, hit by objects thrown at them. Fabio Genco, director of 118 of the operational center of Palermo, Trapani and Agrigento, announces legal action: “We will file a complaint about what happened, we will request the convening of a table at the prefecture to request that the operators are escorted by the police. These attacks can no longer be tolerated. The ambulance arrived within minutes, as can easily be demonstrated. Instead, a group of people thought it better to attack the doctors and nursing staff and throw objects at the ambulance. »
One of the doctors who arrived at the scene of the accident and was hit and pushed said: “How is it possible to attack someone who is there to save your life? No one should ever be forced to choose between helping and protecting their own safety, especially in such critical situations. There are no adequate sanctions for those who attack health workers, nor sufficient protection for those working on the front lines. Is it worth it? We don't want to be heroes. We just want to do our jobs safely, without fearing for our lives every time an emergency call goes out. Tonight, all tolerance limits have been exceeded. How many more attacks do we have to endure before things change? Today I finish my work bringing home a lot of anger and bitterness.”
