"There were 143 assaults against healthcare and social care workers recorded in the two-year period 2023-2024 in the healthcare authorities of the metropolitan area of Cagliari and Medio Campidano. This unacceptable situation highlights a worrying risk of physical and verbal violence in the workplace for all workers."
This is the complaint made by Uil Fp regional general secretary Mimmo Foddis, Uil Fp regional organizational secretary Massimo Marceddu, and Uil Fp regional secretary Fabio Sanna, who, through the Uil Fp Sardinia Study and Research Center, conducted a study on the assaults that occurred between 2023 and 2024.
The study was conducted on three local health authorities in the metropolitan area of Cagliari, plus one in the Medio Campidano (sample of 10,239 employees), which account for approximately 40% of the entire staff of the public regional health service in Sardinia . The data was provided by the General Directorates, acquired from the heads of prevention and protection services and from the Company Risk Management Departments.
According to statistics , assaults occur mostly in the emergency room : 49 cases, or approximately 34.3% . The risk is high in psychiatric and addiction-related areas, with 42 cases, or approximately 29.4%. Significant risks are also present in hospitalization areas, with 35 cases, or approximately 24.5% , and dialysis areas, with 11 cases, or approximately 7.7%. Dangers exist in all other areas, with 6 cases, or 4.2%. Approximately 40% of incidents involve a physical component, while 57% involve verbal aggression.
The analysis conducted by Uil Fp also focuses on specific categories. Nurses represent the majority of victims, with 51 cases, or approximately 45% . In second place are external professionals working in healthcare companies: 22 cases involved security guards, and two of the victims were psychologists. In third place are doctors, with 22 cases, or 18%. Followed by healthcare workers with 18 cases.
According to union representatives, the situation "is alarming: institutions must intervene to curb this widespread phenomenon and put an end to these intolerable acts against those who care for people every day." According to Uil Fp, this is just the tip of the iceberg : "The figure is certainly underestimated," they denounce, "since many of the incidents go unreported. The real figure is far higher."
(Unioneonline)
