Yet another attack – the third in six days – at the Policlinico in Foggia. “We are now facing a real escalation that must be stopped, we cannot continue like this or we will close the Emergency Departments in Italy”. This is how Giuseppe Pasqualone, General Director of the Policlinico Riuniti Foggia, commented to Adnkronos Salute on the third episode of violence, the second recorded only today, in the Emergency Department of the hospital, already the scene of a ‘Gomorrah-style’ punitive raid on September 4th against doctors and nurses by the family of a 23-year-old from Cerignola who died during an operation.
Another attack on the health personnel of the same hospital occurred last night: at 4 am, 3 nurses in the emergency room were hit by a person in an altered state: 2 were reported. The Police intervened to arrest the person.
The latest attack
“This afternoon, around 4pm, a boy with his arm in a cast hit the medical staff, 2 nurses and a security guard paid the price – Pasqualone says – Luckily they are not seriously injured. The reason? The father of the attacker had fainted shortly before while the medical staff at the ‘triage’ were trying to understand the reason for the man’s illness. An incomprehensible, exaggerated attack that must be rejected and stigmatized”.
Three episodes of violence in less than a week “are really too many. For this reason we have strengthened security measures, especially in the Emergency Room, and there is more attention to the access gates”. Then the appeal: “Those who access the hospital must be patient – concludes Pasqualone – we work in stressful conditions due to the lack of staff and the hyper influx into the Emergency Room. Let’s face it, these are often improper accesses that could be managed locally. I wonder if the Emergency Rooms in the country were closed, how would Italians be able to get treatment?”.
“Enough, we can’t take it anymore! Either the Government and the Region intervene immediately, or the hospital closes down. Doctors and nurses are there to work, to save lives: they are not moving targets, punching balls ready to be hit several times a day”. The president of the National Federation of the Orders of Surgeons and Dentists (Fnomceo), Filippo Anelli, is outraged and shocked by the wave of attacks at the Riuniti hospital in Foggia. After the Wild West scenes that saw 50 people enter the hospital last week and about twenty break into the operating room, today two new episodes of violence were recorded in the space of a few hours: last night a young man, arrested red-handed, attacked three nurses with kicks and punches. In the early afternoon, a man with an arm in a cast attacked two nurses and a security guard while he was accompanying his father who was waiting to be examined.
Anelli calls for immediate intervention. “Send the army, send whoever you want – he claims – but doctors must be protected, they must work safely, with serenity, they must leave home without wondering if they will return at the end of their shift. What are we waiting for? If we cannot guarantee their safety, it is better to close the hospital. We cannot wait for the irreparable to happen again”, he points out. “As for the political forces – he concludes – we appreciate that there has been a wave of transversal indignation, which has led to questions and bills. But we cannot wait, we no longer have time: we ask the Government for a decree-law that urgently resolves this situation, which has now become unsustainable throughout Italy”.
“The unprecedented violence against doctors and health workers – adds the president of the Foggia Medical Association, Pierluigi De Paolis – is a very serious signal. Our National Health Service is at risk of collapse: older doctors can decide at any moment to resign from their positions, young doctors do not accept scholarships in specialization schools that carry more risks in terms of violence and complaints”.
#Foggia #Hospital #attack #doctors #nurses #Close
