ER chief removed after cardboard used for fractured foot

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 3 - The head of the ER at the hospital of the Sicilian city of Patti, near Messina, has been removed from his post after a patient with a broken fibula said a doctor used cardboard to block his foot because no splints were available to treat fractures.
    The local health authority of Messina said Saturday that it sent inspectors to verify the situation at the hospital and suspended the head of the Emergency Room.
    Disciplinary measures will also be taken against the hospital's director over the lack of essential material to treat patients, local health authorities added.
    "Verifications will continue" said Sicily Governor Renato Schifani, speaking about the case.
    Elia Natoli, 30, had gone to the hospital last week after a motorcycle accident.
    Natoli's father wrote on Facebook that, after his son was diagnosed with a broken fibula at the Patti hospital, "a doctor went to look for splints", a medical device used to immobilize broken bones, "but found out there weren't any left".
    "At that point, since he didn't know what to do, the doctor used cardboard to immobilize my foot", Natoli said.
    The patient eventually went to a private clinic in Messina for treatment, which "cost 200 euros", he said. (ANSA).