New alarm over the overcrowding of AOU Sassari wards. CISL FP reports a situation of severe pressure in several hospital departments, with patients being cared for on stretchers and staff called upon to manage workloads higher than usual.

According to the union, this situation can no longer be considered an occasional emergency, but now represents a structural and safety problem.

AOU Sassari: the figures reported by CISL

According to data released by CISL FP on 19 August 2026, the following numbers of patients were reportedly present in recent hours:

  • 7 patients on stretchers in Geriatrics;
  • 8 in Medical Pathology;
  • 10 patients on stretchers in Internal Medicine, compared with 21 beds indicated by the union.

The figures have been reported consistently by several outlets. It is important to clarify that these are figures provided by the trade union organization, and not a bed-occupancy bulletin published by the university hospital trust.

The problem did not begin today

However, the situation reported by CISL is also generally reflected in the official documentation of AOU.

The issue of managing and ensuring the safety of Sassari’s hospital facilities had already returned to the spotlight in recent weeks, following the discovery of Legionella in the water of some AOU Sassari departments. This is separate from the bed-capacity issue, but it helps portray a particularly delicate period for the city’s main hospital hub.

In the 2026 Annual Healthcare Risk Plan, the hospital trust describes overcrowded ward conditions and the frequent use of additional beds and stretchers, including in corridors, especially in internal medicine departments. The document also highlights the particular complexity of care associated with the presence of elderly, vulnerable patients with multiple conditions, and raises the issue of available human resources.

The data for 2025 had already revealed extensive use of so-called overflow admissions. According to an analysis published in January 2026 by La Nuova Sardegna, more than 18,000 admissions to additional beds had been recorded in the Medical and Internal Medicine Department alone over the course of the year, with particularly high pressure on Medical Pathology, Geriatrics, Medical Clinic and Internal Medicine.

The complaint over staff shortages

The issue of bed capacity is compounded by staffing shortages.

CISL FP reports a shortage of healthcare support workers, with the result that in some cases nurses are reportedly being asked to carry out care and hygiene-related duties normally assigned to support staff. The union also reports that shifts have been reorganized to ensure continuity of care.

For CISL, increasing the actual number of patients present in the wards without a proportional adjustment of space, staff and equipment inevitably means increasing the care burden on workers.

The request: structural solutions for healthcare in Sassari

The union is calling on the management of AOU Sassari and the Sardinia Region to take immediate action, but above all to implement planning capable of addressing the problem at its root.

This is precisely the central issue: stretchers in the wards are no longer being described as the result of a single spike in admissions. The problem of hospital overcrowding in Sassari has been documented for some time and also appears in the hospital trust’s documents on risk management.

The new complaint of 19 August therefore brings a familiar issue back to the forefront: finding a balance between beds actually available, the number of patients and the staff needed to provide adequate and safe care.