At the end of April, a nurse specialist died in a mental health institution in Heerlen due to a stabbing incident. It is not the first time that something has gone fatally wrong in healthcare. That is why NU’91, the professional organization for healthcare workers, is calling on everyone in healthcare to be silent for two minutes this afternoon at 2 p.m. and to interrupt their work.
The nurse specialist was stabbed on April 15 on the grounds of the mental health institution where she worked. She died from her injuries more than a week later. A 29-year-old woman from Heerlen was arrested for this. A ‘treatment relationship’ existed in the past between the victim and the suspect, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service (OM) previously said. This means that the victim has treated the woman in the past.
According to the professional organization, violence against healthcare professionals has been a major problem for years. “We have been saying for so long that safety is the first priority, but in practice this often turns out not to be the case. We hear that the right resources, such as a working alarm button, are missing. Or that healthcare professionals such as they indicate that a situation is unsafe. That really has to change. How many more victims must there be?” says the chairman of NU’91, Femke Merel van Kooten.
Kicked or punched
Violence in healthcare is something that cannot be completely prevented, nurse Martijn van Loo tells RTL News. He has worked in healthcare for more than 20 years and has also had to deal with violence in his work. “It is not only physical aggression, but also verbal aggression. You are scolded, threatened, sometimes grabbed. It sometimes happens when, for example, you forbid a patient to go outside. These are moments when aggression can arise and then you are sometimes kicked or beaten.”
According to Martijn, care without aggression is a ‘utopia’. In his practice he and his colleagues work with security guards and alarm systems, among other things. But that can never completely prevent violence. “I also see aggression as a form of interaction. The anger that arises in a patient when something is not allowed can sometimes be prevented with enough knowledge, training and safety equipment,” says Martijn.
Complex problem
“But there is not one solution to the problem. I hope that this afternoon’s action will bring more attention to violence in healthcare, but that we as employees will also become more assertive towards our own employers when we encounter certain incidents. .”
The action of NU’91 corresponds to a recent action by the NS, which stopped all trains for three minutes. The reason for this action was the assault on a conductor. The woman was kicked, punched and pushed down the stairs with brute force.
Call
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