An outburst of violence this Friday evening in Tours (Indre-et-Loire). Arrived 20 minutes late for his appointment with SOS Médecins, a man will become extremely threatening and violent when he discovers that the doctor who was to receive him has left the scene, reports France Bleu Touraine.
It all starts earlier in the day, says the local radio, when this man comes to the premises for the first time. It is 4 p.m. and an appointment is given to him for two hours later. But the staff are already noticing his aggressiveness. “He was already quite annoyed, no doubt because he had already contacted the Samu and had been turned away”, specifies Doctor Liance, the president of SOS Médecins in Tours.
Except that when the time comes for his appointment, set at 6.40 p.m., he shows up twenty minutes late. The medical secretary must then inform him that the practitioner who was to receive him has left the premises. He then “lost control”, according to a doctor present on the spot, who confided in La Nouvelle République. The words even seem too weak.
The other patients hidden in consultation boxes
The 30-something, complaining of a burning sensation, will go crazy after he’s been offered a new date for later in the evening. Window smashed with the help of an information panel which he breaks, holes in the wall, information panels torn off… “He took everything he found at hand, like a road sign. He broke the plaster wall, the glass door. It all happened in five minutes” specifies to France 3 the doctor Adam Liance.
He also insults and threatens with death all the people present in these downtown premises. Health professionals and staff then take refuge in the consultation boxes to protect other patients. Finally, the police who have been notified, intervene and none of the people present are injured. Some, barricaded, were however very shocked. The violent patient was taken into custody.
SOS doctor filed a complaint. “What happened is deplorable but we cannot lightly decide to close and penalize the vast majority of the population who are already struggling to access healthcare. It’s a decision to be made together. But maybe that will push us all the more to join the national strike movement on the first and second of December in France, ”regrets the manager.
Especially since this is not the first time that this center has been the victim of tensions. “We had an appointment with the prefect, and toured the premises with the Tours police. But we were told that the costs of hiring a security guard would be at our expense,” concludes Dr. Liance of SOS Médecins, who can carry out up to 400 consultations a day. The professionals had already gone on strike after another attack last April.