A disturbing plot links the investigation into Sicilian healthcare contracts to the case of the Papardo hospital in Messina. In the documents of the investigation that revealed the so-called “Cuffaro system”, a sentence appears from Paolo Emilio Russo, president of the tender commission for the cleaning services of the ASP of Syracuse, intercepted while speaking with the Rup Giuseppa Di Mauro: “When will Papardo find out that they never cleaned the operating rooms… they sprayed them with distilled water… then we’ll see”.
In the same period, between November and December 2024, Papardo really ends up at the center of the news: the NAS seizes the cardiac surgery operating rooms due to serious hygiene irregularities. Contaminated water, taps without filters and non-sterile instruments: these are the conditions found, which would have favored lethal infections.
Six doctors are under investigation. The seizure follows complaints from family members of seven patients who died after bypass operations or heart valve installation. The Prosecutor’s Office, however, investigates over twenty similar cases.
In the order the investigating judge speaks of “a clear condition of non-sterility” and of the “concrete danger to the health of patients”, noting the inertia of the health management. The analyses, conducted by two laboratories, confirmed the presence of bacteria such as klebsiella, pseudomonas and staphylococcus, responsible for sepsis and septic shock.