A serious incident of violence occurred in the emergency room of the "Red Cross" Hospital, in which a nurse in training was brutally attacked by a patient after she was asked to wait so that cases deemed more urgent could be treated first.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, August 8, between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. The nurse normally works in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, but that night she had been reassigned to the Emergency Department to assist with the on-call shift.
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According to the allegations made by POEDIN President Michalis Giannakos, the patient was lying on a stretcher in the outpatient area when she was asked to be patient, as patients whose lives were in immediate danger had to be treated first at that moment. The situation, however, quickly spiraled out of control.
He grabbed her by the hair and punched her
According to Michalis Giannakos’s account, the patient got up from the stretcher and lunged at the nurse. She grabbed her by the hair, punched her, and slammed her head against a door, causing her injuries. At one point, the nurse managed to get out of the examination room, attempting to get away from the woman. However, according to POEDIN, the attack did not stop there. The patient followed her, grabbed her by the hair again, and attacked her a second time, causing the nurse to slam into another door. The president of POEDIN maintains that the employee was lucky not to have been more seriously injured. As a result of the attack, she suffered blows and injuries to her head and is currently in a state of severe shock.
The complaint against the two security guards
Another aspect of POEDIN’s complaint is particularly striking. According to Michalis Giannakos, two security guards were present at the scene while the attack was taking place. He claims that, despite the nurse’s cries for help, they did not intervene, as the protocol they follow allegedly does not allow them to have physical contact with patients. In light of this incident, the president of POEDIN raises the issue of effective protection for hospital workers, wondering what role security guards play when staff are attacked and security personnel are unable to intervene.
Below is the full statement from POEDIN President Michalis Giannakou:
An important correction regarding the assault on a colleague early this morning in the emergency room at ERYTHROS STAVROS Hospital, between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. A nurse in training in the ICU and the emergency department was beaten by a patient. She was on duty in the emergency department from last night until this morning.
I spoke with her, and she described the horror she experienced. The patient was on a stretcher inside the clinic. The doctors asked her to wait a moment to be examined because there were patients whose lives were in danger who were being treated first. She stood up, targeted the nurse, and tried to beat her severely. He grabbed her by the hair, pulling it out by the roots, punched her repeatedly, and slammed her head against the door.
She went out the door of the clinic; the colleague followed her, grabbed her by the hair again, pulled it out once more, and slammed her head against another door. The colleague is truly very lucky that she did not suffer a serious injury that could have even been life-threatening.
The patient tried to kill her.
Right there were two security guards who, despite being asked, did not help because physical contact with a patient is prohibited. My colleague was being beaten, in danger of being killed, and the security guards stood by as spectators. Physical contact with patients is prohibited by protocol.
So what are they protecting us from, then? Can security companies therefore guarantee the safety of their staff?
That is why we are calling for the reestablishment of the special police unit for SECURITY PERSONNEL that existed in the past and of which only a few members are still on duty (the rest have retired).Our colleague is lucky to be alive. She got away with a bump on her head and a great deal of fear.
The hospital director contacted her today and granted her five days of leave, plus as much time as she needs to recover from the shock and the injuries she sustained. Kudos to him.
Source: thetoc.gr
