Healthcare workers protest fatal stabbing in mental health clinic with 2-minute strike

Healthcare workers will stop working for two minutes at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday to protest against violence. In these two minutes of silence, they will commemorate an employee of a mental health institution in Heerlen who was stabbed to death at work last month.

NU’91, a professional organization for healthcare workers, called on its members to hold this silent protest to draw attention “to the increasing aggression towards healthcare providers.” Chairman Femke Merel van Kooten wants more measures to protect healthcare workers. “How many victims must there be?”

Employers united in the Dutch Mental Healthcare Association support the protest. “Violence in society is increasing and we also see this in mental health institutions. We cannot and will never accept violence against care providers,” the umbrella organization reported. The professional association of caregivers and nurses, V&VN, will also join the protest.

The woman (39) who was stabbed to death worked at the Limburg mental health institution Mondriaan. She was stabbed on April 15 and died from her injuries on April 23. The police arrested a 29-year-old woman. The victim had treated the suspect in the past.

The Mondriaan clinic will also participate in the protest. “We honor Melanie by observing two minutes of silence on May 2 at 2:00 p.m. And by continuing to strive for a world where love, care, and compassion always triumph.”

Other healthcare institutions, such as Lionarons and Care+ in Limburg and Pro Persona in Gelderland and Utrecht, will also interrupt their work for two minutes today.

At the beginning of last year, a 26-year-old counselor at a youth care center in Emmen was also stabbed to death at her work. A young person who was being treated there wanted to rob the safe with his friends. A client of a mental health institution in Poortugaal assaulted three nurses during his treatment last year.