Polish doctors on Friday called for tighter hospital security after a knife attack at a hospital in the south of the country left four people injured, including a doctor and a nurse.
Dr. Artur Ploch, head of the surgery department at the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, speaks during a news conference in the southern Polish city on Friday after a knife attack at the hospital left four people injured.PAP/Kasia Zaremba
The Polish Chamber of Physicians (NIL) called for an emergency government meeting on the safety of healthcare workers following Thursday’s attack at a hospital in the southern city of Jastrzębie-Zdrój.
Grzegorz Wrona, the chamber’s commissioner for physicians’ rights, appealed to the justice ministry to urgently convene the government’s task force on protecting medical personnel.
He also urged the government to introduce a legal ban on bringing weapons and sharp objects into medical facilities, with criminal penalties for violations.
Wrona warned that aggression against healthcare workers could intensify amid heightened public tensions following media reports about doctors’ salaries and an ongoing controversy involving Warsaw’s Południowy Hospital.
The chamber also proposed creating a national register of violent incidents involving healthcare workers and providing information about people convicted of attacking medical staff.
The medical association said it was already working closely with police and prosecutors, with cases involving assaults on healthcare workers handled under an expedited procedure.
„The safety of healthcare workers is a challenge that requires a coordinated response,” Wrona said. „We hope for swift action and broad discussion that will effectively reduce risks and ensure safe working conditions.”
The attack occurred on Thursday afternoon at the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Jastrzębie-Zdrój. Preliminary laboratory tests found that the 19-year-old suspect was under the influence of drugs at the time of the assault, officials said.
Hospital spokeswoman Marcelina Twardowska said the victims were a doctor, a nurse and two female patients.
Artur Ploch, head of the hospital’s surgery department, said the doctor and the two patients suffered stab wounds to the chest, with one also sustaining a neck wound. He described their condition as serious but stable.
Hospital director Robert Ostrowski said the doctor prevented a greater tragedy by overpowering and restraining the attacker until emergency services arrived, despite being injured himself.
The health ministry said it was „monitoring the situation closely” and offered to provide „all necessary support.”
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Source: PAP
Radio Poland