The Medical Chamber demands that the bullies of doctors be sanctioned
The Medical Chamber reacts most strongly and condemns the incident in which a patient physically assaulted a physician at work in The General Hospital in Ohrid. We express our support for the attacked colleague and gratitude to those who reacted reasonably and prevented a major incident, say from Medical Chamber of the Republic of S. Macedonia.
- In conditions of a pandemic that has lasted for almost two years, doctors are under daily pressure to respond to the needs of an increasing number of patients, and threats, as well as physical and verbal attacks only complicate the provision of health care and negatively affect its quality. Also, a doctor who feels unsafe in the workplace may not be maximally efficient in performing work duties.
Doctors and patients have the same common goal, which is to provide quality health care, which can be achieved through joint action and cooperation.
In conditions of pandemic, in our country and in the wider world, violence against health workers has become a more pronounced problem. We believe that a solution to this challenge can be sought in the faster adoption of the amendments to the Criminal Code. Namely, the Medical Chamber has been lobbying for a long time and was actively involved in changes in the legislation by which the attack on a health worker at the workplace will be considered an attack on an official for which the public prosecutor's office will file criminal charges ex officio and for which there will be criminal responsibility. In order for this to take effect, amendments have been made to the Law on Health Care that have already been adopted, as well as amendments to the Criminal Code, which are in the parliamentary procedure for adoption. We appeal to the MPs in the Parliament to review and adopt these legal changes as soon as possible, which we believe will send a message that violence does not solve the problems, but only further complicates them, due to which in case of dispute systemic solutions should be sought.
The Medical Chamber remains open for its members to report the incidents they face and to provide assistance and support in resolving them in accordance with its competencies, stands in their statement to the public.
