EU financing worth some EUR 106 million – around three quarters of the total cost – has enabled the construction of the new San Marco hospital and an orthopaedics centre of excellence in Librino, on the southern outskirts of Catania, Sicily’s second largest city. The San Marco is intended to replace the Vittorio Emanuele, Ferrarotto and Santo Bambino hospitals. The aim is to concentrate departments dedicated to diagnosis, hospitalisation and treatment activities in one building.
New hospital and orthopaedics centre of excellence built in Sicily
- 28 August 2017
The project has led to the building of a department for mothers and children, an accident and emergency department, a surgery department and a department to ensure continuity of care between hospital and external health services. It has also funded the provision of 458 beds.
The hospital has an area of more than 84 000 square metres. As well as healthcare and other public service facilities, it is equipped with related infrastructure including office space, car parking, cafeterias, an auditorium and accommodation.
Modern quality, organisational and safety standards
Overall, the goal of the project is to ensure provision of health facilities able to meet demand in an area with around 150 000 potential users. The buildings adhere to modern quality, organisational and safety standards, particularly in relation to aspects such as earthquake proofing, fire resistance and accident prevention. The hospital’s location away from the centre of the urban area contributes to combatting traffic congestion and easing access to care.
Improving access to healthcare is clearly identified as an objective by both the Italian national and Sicilian regional health plans, in line with which the construction of the hospital has taken place. Consolidation of services from three existing hospitals into one centre should improve the effectiveness of services.
Four areas of activity
San Marco has four main areas of activity. Surgery, with 196 beds, covers cardiac, general, facial, paediatric, thoracic, vascular, eye, ear, nose and throat surgery, as well as obstetrics, gynaecology and urology. The medical area has 202 beds for angiology, cardiology, dermatology, haematology, transplantation, gastroenterology, general medicine, nephrology, neonatology, neurology, oncology, paediatrics, and the treatment of thalassaemia and infectious diseases.
For intensive care, there are 84 beds divided among resuscitation, emergency care, the trauma centre and the stroke, coronary and neonatal intensive care units. Rehabilitation has 40 beds for long-term rehabilitation and physical care and rehabilitation. In addition, there are 15 beds for psychiatry and 23 for private practice.
The orthopaedics centre of excellence has 160 beds for paediatric orthopaedics as well as spinal, replacement prosthetic, hand, foot, skeletal tumour and minimally invasive surgery, and the treatment of rheumatic and rare congenital diseases.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “New Hospital San Marco” is EUR 141 850 491, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 106 387 868 through the “Sicily” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period.