“In a regional hospital we treat on average 400 or 500 patients a day, Security is not enough.” It is explained by Manuel, a pediatrician who was beaten in the emergency room. He is in favor of that protection. In 2022, Health registered 13,177 attacks on professionals, the highest number since 2017. Those who know the problem admit that security agents are deterrents in caring for conflictive groups, people under the influence of substances and patients with violent outbreaks. Circumstances that cannot always be foreseen.
This violence has given rise to legal initiatives to prevent and punish it. Guillermo Perez Riveroa lawyer who advises the Las Palmas College of Physicians, cites the creation of the Police Interlocutor, the consideration of health professionals as agents of authority if they are attacked in their work – which aggravates the penalties – and the greater sensitivity of the judges .
He Health Police Interlocutor He is a figure of the State Security Forces and Corps specialized in these attacks and who acts as a liaison with the sector. Its ‘Take care of those who take care of you’ campaign focuses on prevention. Precautions such as “have open exit routes”, “remove throwable objects that could be used as weapons” and “have an escape plan” They illustrate the extent to which the feeling of insecurity has grown.
When tension increases, he recommends immediately notifying the Police or Civil Guard, by phone or through the app AlertCops. “Maintain a safe distance”, “speak in a slow tone” and “show your hands at all times” are other instructions.
If the attack has been completed, the Police Interlocutor urges you to report. “An unreported crime does not exist. Unreported insults and threats today could become an attack tomorrow,” reads his brochure. 60 people were arrested for these crimes in 2022, a year in which the number of physical attacks climbed to 2,007.