A total of 442 professionals suffered insults, threats, harassment or physical violence last year
Attacks on toilets shot up 25% last year in the Region of Murcia, according to data provided this Monday by the Minister of Health, Juan José Pedreño. Specifically, 346 incidents were recorded in which 442 professionals suffered insults, harassment, threats or, in the worst cases, physical violence. Pedreño attributed part of this increase to the improvement in the notification system, although he did not hide that it is a problem on the rise. “The restrictions that have been in place during the pandemic have not always been understood by a sector of the population,” he admitted. “The administration has to be aware, and the citizens too, because no aggression is justified,” he added. The most worrying thing is the 60% increase in physical attacks, although the complaints filed in the courts or before the State Security Bodies decreased by 11.4%.
In health centers, doctors are the ones who suffer the most attacks, while in hospitals nurses are the most attacked, explained the counselor. 75.6% of the victims are women, while 52.3% of the aggressors are men. Last year, the most frequent profile of the aggressor corresponded to a man between 36 and 40 years old, together with women between 46 and 50. The aggression took place in the consultation (including telephone), and was manifested mainly with verbal threats , shouting and insults. Not accepting the rules of the center and disagreement with the care received were the most common triggers, according to data provided by Health.
Number of professionals
assaulted (2021)
administration staff
ways in which
Aggression Materializes (2021)
Basic causes of aggression
(2021)
Source: Ministry of Health
Number of professionals attacked (2021)
administration staff
Forms in which aggression materializes (2021)
Basic Causes of Aggression (2021)
Source: Ministry of Health
Since 2009, when the murder in Moratalla of the doctor María Eugenia Moreno shocked Murcian society and the health system, the Ministry has been increasing security measures, with the installation of anti-panic buttons in health centers, clinics and in the mental health network. Now, the measure will be extended to hospital consultations, assured Pedreño.
However, professionals denounce that much remains to be done, and warn of the deterioration of the climate in health centers in the two years of the pandemic. “We are facing a very worrying situation, and the figures do not reflect the whole reality, because there are cases that are not reported,” Francisco Miralles, president of the College of Physicians, said on Monday. The trust on which the relationship between health professionals and users has traditionally been based has been “cracking” for reasons “not exclusively related to health issues”. The pandemic, social and socioeconomic factors may be behind this uptick, he reflected.
For its part, the College of Nursing demanded that “in the current situation of the pandemic and the saturation of the health system, security measures should be reinforced, especially in Primary schools, which is where most of the aggressions are concentrated” . The system “was already collapsed before Covid, with the pandemic this situation has worsened especially and has a very direct impact on nursing staff, who are the health group that suffers the most insults, harassment and physical violence, since they are the first in maintaining contact with patients,” warned this institution in a statement.
awareness campaign
The Ministry of Health launched a campaign under the slogan ‘Take care of me too’ “with the aim of raising awareness about attacks on health and non-health workers in order to reduce these violent acts.” Two audiovisuals will be projected on the screens of the waiting rooms of health centers and hospitals, and “a training plan and courses have been designed for the prevention of these cases.”
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