Minister Sasko Condemns Any Attacks on Doctors, Nurses and Health-care Workers

Bratislava, 5 January (TASR) - I condemn any attacks and violence against doctors, nurses and health-care workers, Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) has posted on social media following a recent incident at Ruzinov Hospital in Bratislava, adding that vulgar language, aggression, threats and physical attacks have no place in any health-care facility. "It's absolutely unacceptable for health-care workers to face fear, physical and verbal attacks or humiliation while carrying out their work," emphasised Sasko. According to him, the task is to provide a safe working environment for them, and he expressed his gratitude to the police for their rapid intervention. He said that violent behaviour can't be tolerated and that immediate action must be taken against those who commit it. A patient and his relatives attacked a doctor and a nurse in the accident and emergency ward at Ruzinov Hospital in Bratislava on Saturday, 3 January. The patient was already aggressive when his blood was being taken, yelling at the nurse that she didn't know what she was doing and that it was hurting him. His aggression escalated when the nurse wanted to test him for COVID-19. His wife burst in and also yelled at the doctor and nurse. The patient began threatening to kill the attending medical staff. According to spokesperson for the University Hospital in Bratislava (UNB) Eva Kliska, the attack was thwarted thanks to the rapid intervention of a private security service (SBS) and the police, and the medical staff didn't suffer any physical injuries. The police have charged the man with the crime of making dangerous threats. According to UNB director Alexander Mayer, threatening staff with death has become a common occurrence in recent times. am/df