Doctors under fire from hate speech. Pomeranian hospitals appeal for response

Doctors Want Register of Aggressive Patients, Lawyers Have Doubts

Aggression against medics. The priority is to make penalties for violence as realistic as possible as soon as possible

Łukasz Jankowski: the need for a fast track for reporting aggression against doctors

"This phenomenon not only hurts, but also normalizes violence"

The content of the appeal was made public on Wednesday by the spokeswoman of the company Szpitale Pomorskie Małgorzata Pisarewicz. Its authors called on journalists and media representatives to take action to stop the increasing attacks on doctors and other medical workers on the Internet.

- As a community of Pomeranian Hospitals, we turn to you - journalists and media representatives - with an appeal for responsibility and real action in the face of the growing wave of hate that healthcare workers encounter in the online space - we read.

The authors of the document drew attention to the growing number of aggressive, contemptuous comments online towards hospital employees - doctors, nurses, paramedics - appearing, among others, under articles about attacks on medical personnel.

- This phenomenon not only hurts, but also normalizes violence against those who help and save lives every day - they noted.

Representatives of the Pomeranian Hospitals reminded that the media have an influence on shaping the public debate and are responsible for the published content and its selection .

- It is up to you whether comments under publications and on the editorial office's social media will be a place of honest debate or a hotbed of hatred - they added.

The authors of the letter called on editors to moderate comments, respond to hateful posts and protect medical professionals.

- We do not agree to social acceptance of verbal and physical violence against healthcare workers. And we ask you - do not contribute to this violence by not reacting. Social sensitivity begins with words. Let us set an example that words can also heal - they wrote.

In recent months, there have been several brutal attacks by patients on medical personnel in Poland.

At the end of April, an orthopedist at the University Hospital in Krakow died. A 35-year-old man burst into the office where he was examining a patient and attacked the doctor with a knife. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, the doctor died. The attacker was a patient dissatisfied with the course of treatment.

At the end of January, a drunk man fatally stabbed a paramedic in Siedlce.

Aggression against medical personnel also occurred in Sopot, Gdynia, Janów Lubelski, Dębica, Zielona Góra and Tychy.