The Italian army will begin guarding medical staff at a hospital in the southern Calabria region starting Monday, following a series of violent attacks on doctors and nurses by enraged patients and their relatives across the country, according to local media reports. Prefect Paolo Giovanni Grieco has approved a plan to strengthen the existing military surveillance at sensitive locations in the Calabrian town of Vibo Valentia, including the hospital. These attacks, particularly frequent in southern Italy, have prompted the national doctors’ guild to request the deployment of the army to ensure the safety of medical personnel.
The situation escalated after a violent assault at the Policlinico hospital in Foggia in early September, where around 50 relatives of a deceased patient attacked hospital staff.
The incident, which left some doctors and nurses injured, was the tipping point for hospital administrators, who threatened to close the emergency room after experiencing multiple attacks in one week. With over 16,000 reported cases of physical and verbal assaults in 2023, medical professionals have called for drastic measures. Proposals from the Italian Federation of Medical-Scientific Societies include suspending access to free medical care for three years for anyone who attacks healthcare workers.
Additionally, chronic understaffing, long wait times, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened the situation, leading to burnout and a shortage of approximately 30,000 doctors in the country.
Peoplesmind