Hospitals see sharp rise in aggressive patients, visitors

Hospitals throughout the Netherlands are increasingly dealing with aggressive patients and visitors. Hospital workers face vandalism, verbal abuse, discrimination, and physical violence. And it is more than the “short fuse” left over from the coronavirus pandemic, spokespersons of several large hospitals told NU.nl.

Almost all hospitals saw an increase in aggressive incidents during the coronavirus pandemic, primarily due to extra restrictions they had to implement. But now, aggression among patients and their visitors is even more common, hospitals in Rotterdam, Utrecht, Gelderland, Zwolle, and Amsterdam, among others, told the newspaper. The OLVG in Amsterdam, for example, saw its number of aggressive incidents double compared to last year.

Physical violence mainly comes from patients, especially in the emergency rooms, neurology departments, geriatrics, and psychiatry. The disease could play a role here, spokespersons for Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST) and the Isala Hospital in Zwolle said. But other forms of aggression are just as likely to come from visitors.

“The more individualistic society plays a role, as does the war in Ukraine, which has led to higher prices,” the MST spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the Antonius hospital in Utrecht agreed: “Stress and private problems are often the cause of aggression.”

The increasing aggression is taking its toll on healthcare workers. In addition to physical and mental health damage, they also enjoy their work less. ‘We are, therefore, seeing more employees with burnout complaints, higher absenteeism, and even staff who want to leave healthcare,” said the MST spokesperson.