Doctor dies in Krakow. Ministry of Health to consider additional security of emergency departments

• Deputy Minister Wojciech Konieczny pointed out on TOK FM that work should be done to tighten penalties for attacks on medics.
• - Penalties in the form of two months of community service for an attack on a paramedic, in the context of what happened, should be a thing of the past - he stressed.
• He has doubts whether the installation of safety gates in hospitals, as proposed by the president of the Supreme Medical Council, Łukasz Jankowski, would be an appropriate and feasible solution.
• He admits, however, that there are places in hospitals, such as hospital emergency departments, where there are more acts of aggression and it is necessary to analyze the possibilities of additional security.

Deputy Minister Wojciech Konieczny was a guest on Radio TOK FM's Morning Show on April 30. On air, he commented on yesterday's murder of a doctor in Kraków. A 35-year-old man burst into the office where orthopedist Tomasz Solecki was examining a patient and attacked him with a knife. As it turned out, the attacker was a patient dissatisfied with the course of treatment.

The medic had previously reported harassment by the patient, and the case was also investigated by the Patient Rights Ombudsman. According to the deputy minister, "a doctor has the right to refuse to see a patient who is behaving aggressively for some reason, and to refer him to another doctor, because of course he needs help." - It's not like a doctor has to see a patient when they pose a threat to him - he said.

Referring to the information that the attacker was an officer of the Prison Service, Konieczny emphasized that apparently "the selection of personnel leaves much to be desired", as this was not the first case of acts of aggression by representatives of this profession. Just a month ago, another prison guard fatally shot his daughter and mother-in-law.

- Of course, we can talk about some accidental coincidence, but these are very disturbing signals. Even what we hear, that there were some problems with this man (the doctor's killer - editor's note) and that it was possible to react earlier, shows that vigilance was not maintained. In connection with this, the reaction of the Ministry of Justice (dismissal of the director general of the Prison Service, Col. Andrzej Pecki - editor's note) is completely understandable to me - indicated the deputy head of the Ministry of Health.

However, he had doubts as to whether the installation of security gates in hospitals, as proposed by the president of the Supreme Medical Council, Łukasz Jankowski, would be an appropriate and feasible solution.

- Doctors, nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists are people who work with the assumption that they are providing help, and are not part of the apparatus of oppression or order. It is difficult to make such decisions and express your views on the subject in the heat of the moment. It would certainly be a very difficult operation to carry out, considering the number of visits, the number of hospitals, clinics where these gates would have to be installed. Let's hope that we will ensure safety with other means - he explained.

He admitted, however, that "there are undoubtedly sensitive places in hospitals, such as hospital emergency departments, where there are more acts of aggression and the possibilities of additional security should be analyzed." Although, as he admitted, any potential regulation of these issues by regulations will be difficult.

- Hospitals have different founding bodies, are located in different buildings, and issuing a ministerial regulation in this matter is undoubtedly very difficult. In our opinion, cases of aggression against medical personnel are treated too lightly by the justice system - assessed Wojciech Konieczny.

That is why the deputy minister hopes that in the context of the events in Krakow, imposing sentences of two months of community service for attacking a paramedic will become a thing of the past. - We have to work on this - he emphasized.

He also drew attention to the recent intrusion of MEP and presidential candidate Grzegorz Braun into the hospital in Oleśnica and terrorizing a doctor on duty there. - On one scale we had MEP Braun's immunity, on the other - the doctor on duty, i.e. a public official. This incident was an example of enforcing politics on health care, which should not have happened - he added.

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