Violence has no place in civil society. However, violent crimes such as stabbings, shootings, threats, and other assaults have alarmingly increased recently, even in American hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
We understand the daily intimidation and violence suffered by medical workers since we are the directors of national organisations that represent hospitals and emergency physicians. Making it a federal crime might aid in its eradication.
High rates of violence are experienced by nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals who work in U.S. hospitals, ERs, and health care systems. More than 80% of emergency physicians, in accordance with a recent poll by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), believe that violence has increased in emergency rooms, with 45% stating that it has greatly increased over the past five years. The pandemic has just made this worse.
According to a poll of registered nurses employed in hospitals, 68% of respondents and 44% of respondents, respectively, reported verbal abuse and physical assault during the epidemic. This makes what are supposed to be therapeutic environments extremely difficult.
Despite the seeming everyday abuse of healthcare workers, there is no federal statute that protects them.
Late in 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland acknowledged the shocking boost in attacks on flight crews and ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute offenders first. Congressmen are currently debating a bill to support the protection of the country's medical workforce.
The beating or threatening of healthcare workers while they are on the job would be a federal offence under the bipartisan Safety From Violence for Healthcare Employees Act (H.R. 7961), which itself is sponsored by Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) and Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.).
Additionally, this law would increase hospitals' and health systems' ability to stop and prevent violence against personnel. The bill would incentivize hospitals to improve their security systems, begin preparing employees to deal with violent situations, and better collaborate with law enforcement to reduce threats by establishing a new federal program.
It is morally right to prevent violence in hospitals, which has significant ramifications for the delivery of health care. Health care professionals struggle to concentrate on their duty to care for customers as a result of workplace animosity.
It is particularly alarming since the ACEP poll revealed that over 90% of emergency physicians think that violence in ERs has a detrimental impact on patient care. Time is of the important, and every second counts when it comes to medical emergencies, such as gunshot wounds, auto accidents, ruptured appendix, and overdoses. Medical professionals should put all of their attention into saving lives rather than worrying about their own safety.
Health care employees might become demoralised by verbal and physical abuse. Even the threat of war exacerbates high staff turnover rates and contributes to job burnout. There is an unparalleled lack of physicians, nurses, or other allied health workers in hospitals and health systems. It will be harder to keep and attract personnel if protections aren't put in place to lessen violence.
Nobody should be required to work in a hostile or disrespectful workplace. We salute the legislators who back the SAVE Act and implore Congress to approve it. All hospital staff members, such as emergency room doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers, deserve to be safeguarded from violence while they work constantly to provide everyone who needs it with high-quality care.
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