An emergency nurse at La Conception hospital in Marseille was wounded by a stab on Sunday. On the solutions to be provided to put an end to this violence, doctors disagree.
In Marseille, the world of health is also a victim of violence! An emergency nurse at La Conception hospital in Marseille was indeed injured by a stab on Sunday morning during an altercation with several people, one of whom asked to be treated after a fight. The victim immediately lodged a complaint, as did the hospital, said Bastien Ripert, the chief of staff of the director general of the AP-HM. Yet according to the 2012 report of the National Observatory of Violence in the Health Environment (Onvs), Marseille is not the only victim of this hospital violence. In 2012 alone, more than 11,000 reports of attacks on property and people were recorded in 352 health establishments across the country.
The departments concerned
The attacks mainly emanate from the services welcoming very difficult patients. Psychiatry accounts for 23% of reports for attacks on people, followed by emergencies and geriatric services.
If all reports are almost twice as frequent as in 2011, it is because the number of establishments declaring cases of incivility to the Observatory continues to increase. The Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP – 37 establishments) thus joined the system last year, declaring at the same time 3,038 incidents.
Source: National Observatory of Violence in Health Care
The nature of the acts of violence
Even if level 4 assaults in terms of gravity (violence with a weapon that can go as far as crime), only represent 1% of attacks on people, those of level 3 (physical violence) still constitute 51% of recorded incidents. . For the rest, there are 28% of violent acts of level 1 (insults, insults) and 20% of level 2 (threats of bodily harm).
The most affected regions
This violence in health care fluctuates from region to region. Last year, more than 30% of the problems denounced took place in Ile-de-France. Then come Lower Normandy, Pas-de-Calais and Pays de la Loire with just over 6% each. Incidentally, note that Marseille and the PACA region still arrive in 6th position, totaling nearly 5% of declarations of this violence. The palm of civility goes for its part to the French overseas, because it is in Martinique and Guadeloupe that health personnel are the least attacked.
Source: National Observatory of Violence in Health Care
Emergency physicians divided on solutions
Contacted by why actor, Prof. Marc Alazia, head of the emergency department at the Conception hospital, where the attack took place, offers a radical solution to solve the problem of violence in the emergency room. Exasperated by the verbal or physical attacks which are increasing in his service, this doctor asks the general management of his establishment, “the presence in the emergency department of a dissuasive police force 24 hours a day”. And Professor Alazia adds that, “unfortunately, faced with this increased violence, the vigil cannot be enough. While the police will not solve all the problems, they will at least have the effect of reassuring nurses during their care. Hospital workers must feel safe in their workplace, ”he concludes.
A solution that is not to the taste of all health professionals. For Christophe Prudhomme, emergency doctor at the SAMU in Seine-Saint-Denis, and spokesperson for the Association des Médecins Urgentistes de France (AMUF), this solution does not hold water. “We believe that the presence of security forces will not improve security in emergencies, on the contrary. Faced with very excited and often alcoholic individuals, this presence even risks increasing the level of violence. This is why, on our side, our proposals have been the same for years. We are campaigning for an adaptation of the premises with the creation of circuits organized in a more logical way. “
In detail, Christophe Prudhomme explains to us, “for example, that there should be a central reception, with a more consistent flow of patients. The individuals most at risk would thus be taken care of via a secure and isolated circuit. A separate unit which will obviously have to be equipped with a video surveillance system.
Finally, the last request from the association of emergency responders, the establishment of a simplified reflex call to the police. “With a simple push button, we could instantly listen to what is happening in our premises. When a situation is suspicious, the police could, thanks to this system, intervene as quickly as possible as soon as the situation worsens. ”
As we have understood, the solutions proposed differ according to health professionals and during this time violence in hospitals continues …
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