Hadera hospital staff slapped, cursed by patient
05/14/2012 01:11
Deputy director of state hospital calls on authorities to ensure that the attacker is quickly punished.
Hospital Beds Photo: Courtesy
A patient physically attacked a doctor and nurse in the emergency room of
Hadera’s Hillel Yaffe Medical Center on Saturday night, resulting in them filing
a complaint with the police.
A Hadera resident in his 30s came to the ER
after suffering a dog bite. He was given a preliminary examination and asked to
wait for an orthopedist to arrive. The man started to shout and curse on his
cellphone, without consideration for the medical staff and other
patients.
The nurse on duty asked him to lower his tone of voice,
triggering a violent reaction by the man, who cursed and spat at her. A doctor
who was near the nurse tried to defend his colleague, but the man slapped him
powerfully on his face. A hospital security guard overcame the attacker, as the
man continued to act out wildly. He was removed from the ER as the police
arrived and took the complaint.
Dr. Michael Dudkevich, the deputy
director of the state hospital, said that the nurse and doctor were fortunately
not physically injured – but they were shocked, anxious and suffered emotional
trauma.
Adding that the number of verbal and physical attacks against
medical staffers is on the rise, Dudkevich called on authorities to ensure that
the attacker is quickly punished in order to send the message that violence
against hospital workers would not be tolerated.