Violence against healthcare workers continues, report shows

ISTANBUL

The problem of violence against health care workers in Turkey has remained persistent, with workers frequently being exposed to violence and workplace assault amid the ongoing pandemic, a new report by the Union of Healthcare and Social Service Workers (Sağlık-Sen) has revealed.

According to the April Health Violence Report prepared by the union, violence against healthcare workers in Turkey continued throughout April, and 27 healthcare workers became the victims of violence.

The data in the report showed although there was a decrease in violence against health care workers compared to March, the number of victims who were health care professionals was higher.

The report also stated that 27 health workers were victims of 15 violent incidents involving 22 attackers in April, while 24 health workers became the victims of 16 violent incidents involving 22 attackers in March.

According to the report, three out of every four health care professionals stated that they had been subjected to violence.

“The rate of violence of health care workers is much higher than the rate of transmission of the COVID-19 virus, which has wreaked havoc and has not even reached 25 percent,” the report said.

The trend of violence made headlines again a couple of months ago when a group of health care workers at Cebeci hospital in the capital Ankara was caught on camera barricading themselves in a surgery room against a patient’s relative who tried to force their way inside.