Overview
- Regional health authority AST Ancona said it has ordered immediate internal checks, calling the episode of a patient lying on the floor extraordinarily serious and unprecedented at the hospital.
- The 60-year-old patient, identified as Franco, waited hours without a stretcher and received one at about 16:00 after arriving around 8:20, with Corriere reporting he spent up to eleven hours in the ER.
- Initial clinical attention reportedly came after about three hours with catheterization that drained roughly 1.8 liters of urine, followed by an ultrasound and pain relief including a morphine IV.
- The patient’s wife photographed him on the floor and later provided the image to local figure Paolo Battisti, who posted it online to highlight staffing and equipment shortfalls.
- National and regional politicians condemned the episode as inhumane, while the Marche health assessor acknowledged misjudgments in handling the case but defended frontline staff and vowed further work.