Increasing Tensions in Hospitals, Health Ministry's Solution: Revising Punishments

As the exhaustion of hospitals and the decreasing number of medical and nursing staff create a tense atmosphere, an official from the Ministry of Health announced a plan to intensify 'punishments for violence against healthcare staff.' Hossein Kermanpour, head of the Public Relations Center of the Ministry of Health, stated in an interview with Khabar Online that violence against healthcare staff has increased and, in some cases, has led to the murder and death of health personnel. Kermanpour said, 'The Ministry of Health is conducting studies to provide suggestions to the judiciary to revise the laws punishing violence against healthcare staff and to establish more deterrent punishments.' He emphasized that 'current laws have not improved conditions due to their lack of deterrent effects.' In the continuation of this discussion, the head of the Ministry of Health's Public Relations pointed to the deterioration of old hospital equipment and the inability to provide appropriate services to patients, stating that the failure to update this equipment, which he claims is 'due to sanctions' and economic problems, has led to increased violence and conflicts between patients' companions and healthcare staff. It is noteworthy that the inability to modernize old hospital equipment occurs while millions of tomans have been spent on military equipment in recent years. Kermanpour advised the public that 'doctors and nurses are not responsible for the breakdown of hospital equipment, and if people become aware of the situation, many of these violent incidents will decrease.' He added that most violence occurs in hospital wards, especially in emergency departments. Kermanpour identified the main cause of this violence as the emergency conditions of patients and their companions, pointing to factors such as late arrival of ambulances, address errors, and traffic that provoke violent reactions from patients' companions. Without mentioning practical solutions, this spokesperson for the Ministry of Health considered economic problems and financial pressures as significant factors in reducing the tolerance threshold of the public and healthcare staff, stating that the costs of treatment and fatigue from long shifts can lead to violence. He claimed that 'one of the reasons for violence is the large number of patient companions, and therefore restrictions are applied in hospitals regarding the number of companions.' This Ministry of Health official also mentioned the shortage of human resources and the failure to adhere to standards regarding the ratio of hospital beds to nurses as other factors that can reduce the quality of healthcare services and create a basis for violence against healthcare staff. Meanwhile, in another news report, the public relations manager of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences also reported on a conflict involving a patient and companions, resulting in the 'beating' of several healthcare staff at Jafar Sadiq Hospital in Aligudarz. According to Khabar Online, Abbas Shirzad mentioned that a patient became involved in a conflict and 'slapped' a nurse following the arrival of 'an injured person' at the emergency department at '3 AM on Tuesday, January 24.' He stated, 'Following this conflict, the patient alerted several others and attacked the hospital staff, beating nurses and healthcare personnel, resulting in injuries and fractures to several hospital staff and a patient companion.' According to the police commander of Aligudarz, six individuals involved in the conflict with the hospital staff were arrested and handed over to legal authorities shortly after the incident. This comes amid an ongoing human resources crisis in the country's healthcare network and increasing warnings about the consequences of healthcare personnel leaving the country. Recently, the head of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences announced that there is a shortage of specialists in 48 medical fields in this province. Meanwhile, the newspaper Etemad also warned in its issue on Saturday, January 22, about the shortage of skilled doctors in the next three years, stating that it costs one billion tomans to train each general practitioner. Additionally, according to the Secretary-General of the Nurses' House, compared to European countries where nurses can earn between $4,000 to $10,000, Iranian nurses only receive $200 to $250, which is a major factor in migration. The shortage of specialists in 48 medical fields in Hamadan, as reported by an official, highlights the crisis of nurses in Iran, which has reached the private healthcare sector, with over 4,000 healthcare personnel migrating in the first eight months of this year.