In May, there were three attacks on doctors in the emergency department of the Riga Eastern Hospital. Doctors were attacked by patients and their relatives, and the police intervened. Doctors believe that the law should be expanded so that an attack on a doctor is treated as an attack on a public servant, as is already the case with threats to emergency medical service (EMS) staff - for which real prison sentences are provided.
Doctor Signe Zelcha was on duty when a 21-year-old woman, under the influence of drugs, was brought to her. The woman said she wanted to drink. The doctor allowed her to stand up, but then she was struck. "I received an unexpected blow to the head, to the temple. A strong, unexpected blow. I didn’t understand what was happening. But my colleagues were nearby. They called security," recalls the doctor.
In another case, the doctor's assistant Mikhail Salyuk was struck in the head by a patient at the trauma center. "I was hit on the lower jaw. My colleagues replaced me because I went to examine my head. I had a headache, and stars were flashing before my eyes for about 5-10 minutes," Salyuk said.
The head of the emergency medicine department, Alexey Vishnyakov, confirmed that doctors at the hospital feel threatened. There are two security posts in the clinic, and security guards rushed to help, but all attacks were sudden.
"In the past month, those working here have experienced three serious attacks from patients. Additionally, there are several cases where patients themselves instigate fights," Vishnyakov said. "The patient themselves is calm and normal, but the relatives are aggressive. Staff are in a state of constant stress. I believe that an attack on a medical worker should be classified as a criminal offense," Vishnyakov stated.
Currently, such classification is applied in cases of attacks on emergency medical service staff - after several serious incidents, the Saeima made amendments to the law.
"I advocate for criminal liability for these patients, especially the aggressive ones. But this issue needs to be discussed with representatives of hospitals that face this regularly. Just as we did with the emergency medical service. We solved this problem," said Health Minister Hosam Abu Meri.
Doctors injured in May are currently waiting for information from the police regarding decisions made about these attacks. They will continue their work but want to feel safe.
