Monday 24 April 2023 – 3.40pm
Tuscany woke up dismayed and with tears in its eyes over the death of Dr. Barbara Capovani, the psychiatrist at Santa Chiara in Pisa who died after an assault in the workplace. The video surveillance images have taken up the dramatic sequence of the attack that took place on Friday evening at the end of the work shift.
The investigators arrested a man at dawn on Sunday on charges of attempted murder which after the tragic epilogue turned into voluntary homicide with the aggravating circumstance of premeditation. It is a 35-year-old unemployed resident of Torre del Lago, already a psychiatric patient and known to the police.
The Tuscan governor announced that “The Tuscany Region will constitute itself in the process on the assassination of Doctor Barbara Capovani. Justice be done as soon as possible“.
“For the day of Barbara Capovani’s funeral I proclaimed the city mourning” said the mayor of Pisa who took part in a sit-in in front of the Santa Chiara hospital in Pisa.
Pain and silence
Silence at Santa Chiara in Pisa at noon on Monday 24 April, when colleagues and health personnel stopped in memory of Barbara Capovani. A minute’s silence promoted by the Italian Society of Psychiatry in front of the social psychiatry department, where white coats have gathered in a sit-in.
A torchlight procession in memory of Barbara is scheduled for May 3 in Pisa, in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II at 8 pm, announced by the trade union organizations of doctors, health and veterinary managers together with the Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists “The death of my colleague Barbara Capovani it is dismaying, one cannot die of work, one cannot die at work”, reads a joint note.
The condolences of the institutions and health care
“The death of Barbara Capovani pains me deeply, the violence of which she was a victim is unacceptable – said the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, in a note – today is a very sad day, I thank the family for having chosen to donate Barbara’s organs and I extend my personal and heartfelt condolences to them”.
The president of the Tuscany Region declared “We all prayed and hoped that Dr. Barbara Capovani could recover from her atrocious wounds and instead she left us after fighting for hours. Deep pain of all of Tuscany that leaves us dismayed. A convinced psychiatrist who had chosen public health, dedicating herself over the years with generosity, love and professionalism to hundreds of patients, is taken away from us. But Dr. Capovani was also a wife and a mother, we especially embrace her husband and her children who have asked for organ donation that will help save other lives. A hug also to her colleagues and friends. At this point we just have to wish the judiciary a good job so that the infamous murderer can be brought to justice”.
Filippo Anelli, president of the National Federation of Surgeons and Dentists, announced the dedication of the Medal of Merit for Public Health which he will collect on April 27 at the Quirinale “We will dedicate it to the 379 colleagues who are victims of Covid and to Barbara Capovani, victim of a unheard-of violence in Pisa”.
“Barbara is gone and we will never get used to this personal loss. But even the great professional she was is no longer there. A void, in both cases, that will never be filled. A great lack for the city of Pisa and for the health community that she represented with such competence, because Dr. Barbara Capovani had a great passion for life and for this difficult job; she is a sensitive and helpful woman with everyone. She faced every issue, even the most difficult, in first person, without delegating. She is open to changes and always proactive at work. Our closeness and our long and deep hug reach Barbara’s family, but also the promise that we will commit ourselves to collect everything she has done for psychiatry and for Pisa, donating it, once again, to others” the message of the colleagues of the Department of mental health and addictions of the ASL.
Condolences from Cgil Tuscany, Fp Cgil Tuscany and Fp Cgil Medici and Tuscany managers who commented in a note “The whole CGIL is in mourning, in respect of the pain of the people who loved Dr. Barbara Capovani, killed at work. A terrible tragedy, an immense loss. One person has been identified and arrested, he is a person known to law enforcement, mental health services and beyond. He is a person whose instability was known, a person who had already had the opportunity to attack, harass, threaten. The time will come for him to reflect, evaluate, identify responsibilities. But as far as we are concerned, the goal remains that of putting solutions in place – immediately. We have long called for immediate interventions to guarantee the safety of those who work in health services, often on the front lines, as is the case with mental health. Investments are needed in a sector that has been definanced for years like that of mental health, professionals who work in the field in extreme difficulty and often alone must be listened to, greater coordination between health facilities, prefectures and police headquarters is needed. We are not interested in justicialism as an end in itself, we do not believe in simplistic and security solutions: we want a comparison of merit with political decision-makers and we expect the right to health (including mental health) to be guaranteed together with the right to safety” they concluded Rossano Rossi (Segr. Gen. CGIL Tuscany), Pasquale D’Onofrio (Segr. CGIL Medici and FP Cgil Tuscany Management) and Bruno Pacini (Segr. Gen. FP Cgil Toscana).
