Hospitals throughout the Netherlands are increasingly seeing aggressive patients and visitors. And there is more to it than the ‘short fuse’ that we have left over from the corona pandemic, spokespersons say. This is evident from a tour of NU.nl along several large hospitals in the Netherlands.
During the corona pandemic, almost all hospitals reported more incidents of aggression. Patients and visitors were frustrated and more often had a ‘short fuse’ because of the restrictive measures, say several spokespersons.
But now aggression among patients and visitors is even more common than before or during the pandemic. Hospitals in Rotterdam, Utrecht, Gelderland, Zwolle, Leiden and Amsterdam, among others, report an increase. For example, the number of aggression incidents in the OLVG in Amsterdam doubled this year compared to last year.
It involves different forms of aggression. Sometimes items are destroyed, staff are yelled at and abused, and discrimination and physical violence also occur.
Physical violence is mainly committed by patients, especially in emergency departments, neurology departments, geriatrics and psychiatry. The disease may play a role in this, say spokespersons for the Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST) and the Isala hospital in Zwolle. “In many cases, these are mental health patients.”
‘War, inflation and worry lead to strong emotions’
Many restrictive measures were in place in hospitals during the corona pandemic. For example, patients could receive fewer visitors. In addition, healthcare staff were under high pressure, which meant that patients sometimes received less help than usual. But Medisch Spectrum Twente thinks there is more to it than the shorter fuse that we collectively had left over from the corona pandemic.
“The more individualistic society plays a role, as does the war in Ukraine, which has led to higher prices,” says a spokesman. As a result, people have more worries and sometimes strong emotions play a role that can lead to aggressive behavior. “Stress and private problems are often the cause of aggression,” says the St. Antonius Hospital in Utrecht.
A spokesperson for the Isala hospital says that a language barrier can also be a reason for aggression. “Not understanding what a doctor says can lead to misunderstanding and frustration.”
“We understand that it can be emotional if you or a loved one is in hospital. But that should never lead to aggression or physical violence against our healthcare workers,” says the OLVG. There is also often misunderstanding. “Sometimes patients do not agree with the discharge policy. They often feel that they cannot go home yet or are not well informed about this,” explains an employee.
Aggressive patients lead to higher absenteeism
The increase in aggression against healthcare workers has several consequences. In addition to physical injury and psychological complaints among hospital staff, job satisfaction is also declining. “We are therefore seeing more employees with burnout complaints, higher absenteeism and even staff who want to leave the care,” says a spokesperson for the MST.
The hospital also says that aggression and transgressive behavior has become more visible. “We pay more attention to it and that is also important,” says a spokesman. In the LUMC in Leiden, very aggressive people receive a so-called red card. They are then no longer welcome.
For this reason, several hospitals have made new policies to reduce the consequences of aggression as much as possible. The healthcare sector has been struggling with a major shortage of personnel for some time now. Hospitals offer psychological help to employees who are confronted with aggression. Education and training are also provided.