At least six employees of a hospital in Essen were attacked and injured by relatives of a patient, one of them seriously. A 41-year-old suspect has been arrested, a police spokeswoman said. The 23-year-old is still being treated in hospital, but her life is not in danger.
The incident occurred on Friday in the Huttrop district. According to the police, the 41-year-old was released that evening. He was charged with suspected grievous bodily harm and damage to hospital equipment. According to the information, connections to clan crime are also being investigated. The police are looking for another hospital visitor who was involved in the altercation and is on the run. Witnesses are being asked to come forward. The patient who was visited by those involved in the hospital has since died.
The term clan crime is controversial because, according to critics, it stigmatizes and discriminates against people with a migration background based solely on their family affiliation and origin.
The mayor of Essen, Thomas Kufen (CDU), also commented on the events at the weekend. “Even the loss of a close relative does not excuse or justify such behavior or an attack on hospital staff and a hospital. I condemn this in the strongest possible terms and have absolutely no understanding for such antisocial behavior,” he said. The public prosecutor’s office and the courts are now required to give a clear answer to this.
Survey: Increase in violence in 73 percent of hospitals
According to the German Hospital Association (DKG), hospital employees are increasingly being affected by violent attacks. According to a representative survey carried out by the German Hospital Institute on behalf of the interest group in April, 73 percent of hospitals stated that the number of attacks in the hospitals had increased moderately (53 percent) or significantly (20 percent) over the past five years. Only four percent reported less violence.
The nursing service is the most affected. The hospitals cited “a general loss of respect” for hospital staff as one of the main causes of violence. According to the survey, hospitals are trying to prevent attacks with de-escalation training and structural measures such as access restrictions and video surveillance. 28 percent of hospitals employ a security service. In view of the increasing violence, more than 90 percent of hospitals are calling for tougher penalties.
“Violence against helpers and therefore also in hospitals has increased in recent years. The reason is very often that patients do not understand the order in which emergencies are treated,” said DKG spokesman Joachim Odenbach. Violence is increasingly being used in personal emergencies, and this is particularly common in groups. “Violence seems to be becoming more and more of a means of conflict.” However, social imbalances should not be passed on to employees.
Hospital association sees high number of unreported cases
The regional chairman of the police union in North Rhine-Westphalia, Michael Mertens, said: “What happened in Essen unfortunately fits in with current developments. There is an increase in violence against people who help or protect other people. This includes firefighters, police officers, emergency services and hospital employees.” The union is calling for the facts in this area to be clarified quickly and for severe punishments to be imposed.
A survey of the state criminal police offices shows that the number of violent crimes in German hospitals is increasing. Nationwide, the number of so-called violent crimes in medical facilities has increased by around 18 percent since 2019, to more than 6,190 crimes in 2022. Violent crimes include crimes such as robbery or bodily harm and crimes against personal freedom. In 2019, there were still around 5,245 crimes in the vicinity of a medical facility.
The figures come from the police crime statistics of the state criminal police offices. The states of Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg are not included in the data because they have only been recording crime scenes separately in their statistics since 2020. However, the data does not reveal who committed the violence. Both the victim and the suspect could be from the medical or nursing staff.
The German Hospital Association and the German Hospital Institute assume that there is a significant number of unreported cases. Smaller assaults in particular are often not reported, they said.
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