Accident & Emergency and Ambulance Service

On Friday 10 June we were in the La Spezia area and it happened that Il Presidenti di Italia was there too.  The police were out in force, the roads had blocs, and the traffic lights remained red.  It was the first day of our 8 day stay and my 84 year old mum had a nasty fall tripping over a very neat and tidy drain cover.  She was badly hurt and a lovely young man came to our rescue and called an ambulance.  It arrived within 10 minutes and mum and I were whisked away, ambulance siren sounding, passing through all the road blocs and red lights to the San Andreas Hospital A&E department. Within minutes mum was assessed and calmed by a friendly team and sent off for an x-ray. She had broken bones in her elbow and wrist, and she was in great pain. In under two hours she had been given pain relief, plastered up, and issued with documentation for our insurance company.  We were told she would need an operation within 6 days to repair the damage.  We were told that the operation could be done in Italy, but we opted to take her home as she has other health issues and the Italian-English barrier was very high. Mum's in hospital in the UK and she's had her operation and we are hoping her fingers will regain their previous flexibility. We are very grateful to everyone who helped us that day and for the prompt attention at the hospital. However, there is something playing on my mind regarding the ambulance.  The two lady medics were kind and caring, but did not seem to have any medical training.  She was moved from the ground without assessment, and inside the ambulance, she was not secured, and I had to release my seatbelt and fling my arms around mum to hold her onto the stretcher.  She was very frightened that she was going to fall on the floor.  Do you think that because the president was in the area extra ambulances were on call to deal with minor incidences and it was one of these that came to mum's rescue?  On the other hand, what happens if there is a serious road accident for example?  Does Italy have trained ambulance staff who can deal with trauma? A friend in England told me all Italian ambulances are staffed by volunteers?  Is this true?