Hospitals see spike in aggressive patients and visitors
Hospitals across the Netherlands are dealing with increasingly aggressive patients and visitors. Hospital workers face vandalism, verbal abuse, discrimination and physical violence.And it’s more than a ‘short fuse’ left over from the coronavirus pandemic, spokespersons at several large hospitals said NU.nl.
Almost all hospitals saw an increase in aggressive incidents during the coronavirus pandemic, largely due to the additional restrictions they had to put in place. But now hospitals such as Rotterdam, Utrecht, Gelderland, Zwolle and Amsterdam told the newspaper that attacks among patients and their visitors were becoming more common, for example at his OLVG in Amsterdam. , the number of offensive incidents doubled from last year.
Physical violence occurs primarily in patients, especially emergency rooms, neurology, geriatrics, and psychiatry. A spokeswoman for Medish Spectrum Twente (MST) and Issara Hospital in Zwolle said the disease could play a role here. But other forms of aggression could come from visitors. there is.
A spokesperson for MST said that “a more individualistic society has played a role and the war in Ukraine has led to higher prices”. Problems often lead to attacks,” agreed.
Increased aggression is taking its toll on healthcare workers. In addition to physical and mental health hazards, they do not enjoy their work. An MST spokesperson said, “Thus, we are seeing more and more employees experiencing burnout, high absenteeism, and even wanting to leave healthcare.”
https://nltimes.nl/2022/11/29/hospitals-see-sharp-rise-aggressive-patients-visitors Hospitals see spike in aggressive patients and visitors