A family doctor from Calasparra is the latest victim in a long list of health workers attacked in the Region of Murcia. The doctor, who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of being singled out, went to a home on April 7 to assist a woman who had called 112 asking for assistance. “The nurse, the ambulance driver and I entered the house, and the patient's husband, the first thing he asked us was: where is the doctor?” says the victim. «When my fellow nurse explained to her that I was the doctor, she yelled at me: That fucking black woman? I was in shock”.
Despite everything, the professionals tried to continue with their work. But the aggressor insisted. «He was an older man, about 70 or 72 years old. He shouted more and more, he became louder, and I couldn't even respond: it was as if he were watching a movie. My partner was the one who answered him, asking him to keep his tone. There came a time when the man pounced on the doctor. The ambulance driver avoided the attack and took the attacker to another room. But soon he returned, insisting on insulting him. «He was a misogynist and a racist. There was only hatred on his face. “He said that he was going to take his wife to the hospital and in the end we left,” says the victim.
The doctor continued working for the rest of that day, on Palm Sunday. I covered the guard at the Calasparra continuing care point (PAC), and there were many patients waiting. «I didn't have much time to think, I kept seeing one urgency after another. An elderly woman took my hand and thanked me. “That comforted me.” She wrote to her colleagues to tell them what happened. They supported her and encouraged her to report. This Friday, the victim recounted her testimony to LA VERDAD minutes after speaking with the Hate Crimes Unit of the Civil Guard. «When they asked me if this had ever happened to me, I realized to what extent you normalize these things. Yes, I have felt racism before,” she confesses.
Originally from the Dominican Republic, this 39-year-old doctor arrived in the Region of Murcia in 2009. Here she took the MIR exam and obtained her specialized health training position, after which she has worked as an assistant in Family and Community Medicine. In all these years she has experienced more than one situation loaded with racist overtones: «A 22-year-old boy preferred that I not sew his stitches after an accident and left. Another time, a family came with a crying baby. When I picked him up, his mother told me: he's not used to colored people. I had to explain to him that he was crying because he had a fever.
“Racist insults and sexist treatment”
This Friday, the College of Physicians and the Medical Union showed their most “resounding condemnation” of the attack suffered by this doctor. In a statement, both organizations regretted that the professional was subjected to “racist insults, sexist treatment, threats and an attempted physical attack, which was prevented by the intervention of the fellow ambulance driver.”
The union and the College recalled that “this aggression adds to a high number of incidents.” Last year ended with 499 incidents in which 587 professionals were attacked, according to the balance sheet of the Murcian Health Service (SMS). These are the highest figures since there has been record. Attacks on staff have been a problem for years, but have skyrocketed 56% since the pandemic. Of the 319 incidents recorded in 2019, just before the Covid health crisis, there have been close to 500.
The College of Physicians “demands that the Administration take responsibility for this problem and implement effective measures to guarantee the safety of its workers.” «All health centers must be equipped with a security guard, cameras, double-door consultations and all those measures that are effective to prevent episodes of this type, not only in health centers, but also for the protection of teams in warnings. homes and public roads. The involvement and collaboration of the entire society is necessary to put an end, together and once, to this serious problem caused by attacks in the healthcare field,” says the collegiate institution.
Last March, the Ministry of Health presented a new Plan for Prevention and Care against Aggressions. Among the new developments is that threats or insults on social networks will now be considered attacks for the purposes of statistics. In addition, work is being done to ensure that the new Health Law incorporates administrative sanctions for aggressors. The technicians of the Murcia Health Service warned, in their latest report on attacks, that “the Penal Code protects the health professional in the case of a physical attack, but it does not do so sufficiently in the case of non-physical attacks, such as verbal ones, coercion, intimidation, insults and threats. “Impunity for these types of attacks has made it easier, particularly after the pandemic, for them to increase exponentially.”
The College of Physicians offers victims free legal assistance 24 hours a day by calling 616 66 09 95 and by email at [email protected].
The Murcian Health Service (SMS) activated the protocol planned for these cases after the attack on April 7, according to sources from this department. The victim “has been given an appointment with the Civil Guard, in addition to offering psychological support.” The SMS “is waiting to receive the complaint to initiate legal support and adopt the pertinent judicial measures.” The Ministry expressed its firm condemnation of “any physical or verbal aggression against professionals who work for the health of all.”
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