Most hospital violence occurs in emergency wards
Against the backdrop of rising incidents of physical assault against health personnel, a special discussion organized by the Medical Association of Thessaloniki in the framework of the Thessaloniki International Fair at the weekend highlighted the warning signs of violence outbreaks and ways to de-escalate the tension.
The attendees described the profile of “perpetrators” as mainly escorts of patients or patients who could be treated in a primary healthcare facility and not in a tertiary hospital. Emergency departments were noted as areas of “high tension,” not least due to the sometimes long waiting times. Doctors are advised to show empathy to defuse a situation while not giving in to unreasonable demands.
“There is no room for petulant doctors in the ICU. It is your duty [as a doctor] to find the calm needed to defuse the erratic situation,” said Dimitrios Daniil, a psychiatrist and assistant doctor at the Papanikolaou Hospital.
