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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
A new campaign denouncing violence against caregivers was launched by the Minister for Health Professions, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo. The objective is to change the behavior of patients towards caregivers, who are still too often victims of incivility or physical violence.
This new shock campaign aims to raise awareness among the general public about the violence and incivility to which caregivers can be victims. It has just been unveiled by Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, Minister for Health Professions and will be broadcast until January 18, 2024. Intended for the general public, it also calls on caregivers to systematically file complaints in the event of aggression, of any nature. nature whatsoever. As a reminder, on average, 65 caregivers are victims of this type of attack every day in France, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.
A campaign displayed in practices, pharmacies and hospitals
This campaign will be displayed in all places of care, such as medical offices, but also in hospitals or pharmacies. It will also benefit from an echo through social networks. The objective is to raise awareness among the general public of the verbal or physical violence that caregivers may face.
The campaign’s catchphrase was also deliberately chosen for its shock value: “You have to be sick to attack a healthcare professional“. And on the posters, we can discover a nurse attacked in the emergency room, a doctor beaten in his office or a pharmacist who discovers her pharmacy ravaged. And by flashing a QR code present at the bottom of the poster, it is possible to access the testimonies of victim caregivers.
Recall the risks and free up speech
The objectives of this campaign are to raise awareness among the general public of the penalties to which attackers are exposed, in the event of verbal or physical violence against a caregiver, regardless of the location: “€7,500 fine in the event of contempt and up to 6 months’ imprisonment if committed in a meeting (…), €15,000 fine and one year’s imprisonment in the event of telephone calls /repeated malicious messages or harassment (…), €75,000 fine and 5 years’ imprisonment in the event of threats, pressure, acts of intimidation”but also to encourage caregivers to file a complaint.
To do this, another QR code informs victims of the procedure to follow, with information and an awareness kit available with a simple click.
The lack of resources of hospitals, partly responsible for the situation
According to Dr. Gérald Kierzek, if no incivility is acceptable, there are elements that can explain the situation. “Nothing excuses violence, obviously. But we must first remember that caregivers are more victims of incivility than of attacks on the one hand and that on the other hand, this comes partly from the fact that we are faced with a situation where professionals health workers are at the end of their tether, so are the patients, and when they wait for hours, in pain, with no bed available, all of this creates tensions.” notes the doctor.
“So of course, there is a problem in today’s society of non-tolerance to frustration and of education in general, but the structural problem experienced by the health system and caregivers does not help anything. It is easier to carry out a communication campaign than to allocate the resources that would allow the system to be more fluid, with treating doctors for everyone and reasonable waiting times in emergency rooms.s…” regrets our expert.
