La unión de profesionales de la salud contra las agresiones a médicos.
The Department of Health of the Government of Aragon, the Health Service Aragose (Salud), and the professional associations of doctors, medical assistants, pharmacists, and veterinarians in Zaragoza, Huesca, and Teruel, as well as the Faculty of Dentists and Dentists in Aragón, have come together to express their «zero tolerance.»
The Minister of Health of the Government of Aragon, José Luis Bancalero Flores, and representatives of these professional organizations participated on March 10th in a Law event held at the health headquarters, coinciding with the European Day against attacks on doctors and healthcare professionals on March 12th.
Also present were two representatives from the health police, Colonel Oscar Vergara from the Civil Guard in Zaragoza and Inspector Adolfo Barcelona-AS from the National Police, along with Health Manager Ana Castillo, Human Resources Director Pablo Sánchez, and Human Resources Service Manager María Antonia Contreras.
The Minister emphasized the importance of this event and explained that from March 9th to 16th, all these organizations jointly promoted an awareness campaign with the slogan «Take care of us, insulting or attacking won’t improve the care you receive.»
«We want to send a positive message because we all need to take care of the healthcare system to achieve the best results in healthcare for both the population and the healthcare workers,» he said.
Bancalero highlighted that professionals are «one of the pillars of the Aragonese Healthcare System» and without them, healthcare benefits would not be possible. Therefore, a message of «zero tolerance» has been launched against these aggressions.
The Minister mentioned that professional associations represent those who take care of our health. Regarding the campaign, he detailed the implementation of a new plan to prevent healthcare aggressions, emphasizing the need to respect the rules in each healthcare center and support measures for workers, such as the creation of a professional guide in healthcare sectors.
The Vice President of the Veterinarian College in Zaragoza, José Rómulo Silva, pointed out that this professional group, which also includes nurses, experiences aggression in their work, although it may be less known.
The President of the Autonomous Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges in Aragon and President of the Faculty of Pharmacists in Zaragoza, Raquel García Fuertes, presented the new observer for pharmacist aggressions, launched by the General Council.
She highlighted that reasons like refusing to dispense medication without a prescription, lack of availability of certain drugs, and the detection of fake prescriptions trigger these situations. The observer serves to analyze, make visible, and stop this unjustified violence against those who care and help others.
Teresa Tolosana, President of the Faculty of Medical Assistance in Zaragoza, emphasized the importance of this initiative in involving healthcare professionals. She stressed the need for unity and to address and mitigate these aggressions towards professionals.
She mentioned that statistics show a worsening trend each year, and this phenomenon needs to be stopped as it not only endangers healthcare professionals but also affects the quality and effectiveness of their work.
Olga Ordás, President of the Autonomous Council of Medical Colleges in Aragon and the Faculty of Physicians in Huesca, emphasized that violence is never justified and encouraged professionals to seek support and report aggressions to the authorities for proper action.
The event also featured the participation of two representatives from the health police, Inspector Adolfo Barcelona from the National Police and Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Vergara from the Civil Guard in Zaragoza. They emphasized the importance of reporting aggressions and enhancing cooperation between the police and healthcare authorities to improve safety in healthcare centers.
In the past year, there were 795 reported incidents of violence against healthcare professionals, a 10.11% increase compared to the previous year. Verbal aggressions increased from 65% to 70.94%, while physical aggressions decreased from 35% to 29.06%.
Regarding protective measures, all 124 healthcare centers in Aragon have a panic button installed. Additionally, security guards are present in 29 centers, including hospitals, and panic rooms are available in 17 centers.
The geolocation of healthcare professionals is used for home visits in specific sectors, with plans to expand this system gradually to other areas.
This event highlighted the importance of addressing and preventing aggressions against healthcare professionals and the collaborative efforts needed to ensure a safe environment for both workers and patients.
FUENTE
