Antonio De Palma, national president of the nurses' union Nursing Up, launches an appeal for an "immediate and radical change of direction", asking for effective measures against violence.
“The recent episode in Cittadella, in the Padua area, where a psychiatric patient stabbed health workers and carabinieri, clearly demonstrates that the current measures are insufficient,” he observes.
And he cites other cases: "The nurse from Meldola, Forlì, seriously injured in the neck and hands; the blows suffered by ambulance workers in Vallo della Lucania; the bites against 118 personnel in Florence. All this paints a frightening picture."
De Palma also highlights situations such as that of the San Leonardo hospital in Castellammare di Stabia, in the province of Naples, which serves a vast catchment area and where tensions are the order of the day, but where incredibly there is no 24-hour police presence.
“It is time for the Ministry of the Interior to implement a concrete plan for security, increasing the presence of law enforcement in the most at-risk facilities,” says De Palma. “If the problem is a lack of personnel, then let’s use the army. What are we still waiting for? Health workers risk their lives every day: it is time to move from words to concrete and lasting measures.”
Article published on November 4, 2024 - 20:21
