Medical teams are repeatedly exposed to violence, both verbal and physical. They say they have lost a sense of personal security in their workplace, where lives are saved, and for them – this is their routine. Over the past period, violent incidents have also been reported in Soroka, Laniado, Rambam and the Galilee Medical Center. As mentioned, medical staff in clinics that serve the community are also not immune.
Ynet Studio: A doctor was attacked with a metal rod – the doctors sat for two days (Photo: Assaf Chen)
Three workers in the health system, who fell victim to violence, told Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth about the difficult events they experienced and the life after: the fears, anxieties and post-trauma.
The incident: A family from East Jerusalem threw equipment and hit the staff in the ward.
“I went on break after a very hard shift. I work in a unit that is like intensive care but there is one nurse for four patients. I heard people crying for help, but it was an angry and nervous woman. Glass started flying from the side. When I came to help her she did not want me to help her. She took I had the glass in my hand and wanted to pin it to my throat. Next to her was a large man who poured water on me and spat on me. I shouted at him ‘why are you doing this?’ And somehow I folded myself, bent down and ran away after the cops came. I was in the market and did not realize I was in the wrong position. When I got home at midnight, I took the dog out, came back and suddenly found myself sitting on my bed at home at five and a half in the morning Then I realized something was wrong, and then I realized I was dealing with post-trauma.
Jana Schweibisch, Hadassah Mount Scopus. “Take a breath and say today will be different” (Photo: Amit Shabi)Hadassah’s staff wrapped me in everything, but trauma is trauma. I only went back to sleep after a week. This event accompanies me and I never thought I would deal with trauma. The violence of this family was the worst thing that could have happened. I have been in the country for 30 years and have been through everything. Verbal violence because of my background, violence from men, but violence against those who do only good? I’ve been in treatment since, and I’m still in post trauma. I bathe three times a day and there is no shift that I do not come and go through the same glass. I touch her and see that she is whole. I now understand that my post trauma accompanies me and not me her. It’s very difficult for people like us, we take a breath and say today will be different. It’s very difficult to look to the sides all the time. “
The incident: An attendant of a patient in the emergency department was documented slamming a computer screen on the floor at the nurses’ stand.
“More than half a year ago, at seven-thirty in the morning, a guy came into the emergency room with a hand injury. At the entrance to his emergency room he started screaming and demanded to see a doctor. The computer and threw it on the floor while we were standing. We immediately realized that something bad was going to happen and we ordered security. I was standing right behind him and he threatened to come to our houses and talked insanely. Luckily we were not physically harmed. Eventually the security guard took over, and it was mostly a feeling of fear and helplessness that we had nowhere to go.
Rebecca Eisenbach, Laniado Hospital. “We are a strong team, and we strongly believe in what we do” (Photo: Shaul Golan)Obviously somewhere there is always the feeling of fear, and there are times when I invite confidence, but I strongly believe in what I do – that it is to do only good for people. That people wait so many hours is a systemic matter. I’m in the attitude of only doing good to patients, that’s what guides me, but there are situations where I feel insecure. There is a corner of fear in the heart, but we are a strong team and we strongly believe in what we do. We work with the feeling that at any moment something can happen, and we have a hand on the pulse. In the emergency room everything is very dynamic and the atmosphere can change in an instant, this is a pressure cooker. People can easily warm up and get upset, but reaching a level of violence is really very unusual. The practical solution is to place police officers in all the hospitals in the country. The police need to stand in the doorway here, and that will create a very significant deterrent. We are waiting for these police officers. ”
The incident: She was beaten by family members when she informed them of the death of their loved ones.
“Violence is not something that started today, and it is important to understand it. This is a family waiting near a shock room after a car accident, and as soon as the death was determined – the family went berserk. They threw objects, an ashtray and a bench at me. , But that was two years ago, today I would have behaved differently and filed a complaint.Recently there was an incident of violence in the oncology ward, where a family attacked staff members thinking they were not caring enough for their family member even though he was in a very difficult situation. Inside the nurses’ station without being able to care for others.A few weeks later, a computer screen and a phone were slammed into my room in the emergency room for two interns who examined a patient who asked for medication that could not be given to him. Harms us physically.
“Violence is not something that started today.” Dr. Irit Martik, Rambam Hospital (Photo: Nahum Segal)It is violence that we experience all the time, every day, and it has meaning. We have a team that I am part of that deals with team support. I usually tell myself that it’s a shame and that it’s part of what’s going on outside and back to work. I personally do not feel I am dealing with trauma, but a lot of people do. I know this because I take care of them. Employees who went with flashbacks, who asked themselves whether it was worthwhile to continue this work, difficulty sleeping, poor mood. “I am glad I do not have it, but I support quite a few people who are dealing with post-trauma in the wake of those violent incidents.”