SLK Condemns Incident at Bratislava's Ruzinov Hospital

Bratislava, 6 January (TASR) - The Slovak Medical Chamber (SLK) has condemned an incident that took place in the accident and emergency ward at Ruzinov Hospital in Bratislava on Saturday (3 January) when a patient and his family engaged in aggressive behaviour, and it called on the public to treat health-care workers with respect, decency and understanding, TASR reported on Tuesday based on information provided by SLK's communications manager Prokop Slovacek. "We understand that illness and fear for loved ones can trigger strong emotions in patients and their families, but these frustrations must not be directed at health-care workers on duty, who are doing their best to protect the health and lives of patients," stated SLK, adding that health-care professionals enjoy the status of protected persons, which means that criminal offences committed against them are subject to stricter penalties. The patient and his relatives attacked a doctor and a nurse in the accident and emergency ward. 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. The police have confirmed the incident for TASR, specifying that one suspect has been detained. "An investigation into the offence of making dangerous threats has been carried out, and, after taking the procedural steps, a proposal for charges was submitted to the prosecutor on 3 January 2026," said Bratislava regional police spokeswoman Silvia Simkova. jrg/df