Assault against doctors sees no end, says JMA

AMMAN — Two doctors were physically assaulted by the relatives of patients in the first two months of 2023, according to the Jordan Medical Association (JMA). 

JMA President Zeyad Al Zu’bi told The Jordan Times that most registered assault cases involve attacks on doctors in public hospitals. 

Zu’bi cited overcrowding in emergency rooms (ERs), caused by staff shortages and high inpatient census, as the “main reason” for this form of violence against healthcare professionals.

Moreover, the triage system, which helps prioritise cases in ERs, “isn’t efficiently applied in most public hospitals, partly due to the design of their structures”, he said. 

Once patients are admitted, “it’s extremely important that an experienced doctor or nurse efficiently separates them into critical cases, emergency cases and urgent cases,” Zu’bi explained. 

Patients’ relatives are usually in a “charged” emotional state, especially if the patient’s case is critical, he added.

“They don’t realise that the doctor is handling multiple cases at the same time, and they want their loved one to be a priority,” Zu’bi said. 

Some hospitals lack designated waiting areas for relatives and guardians that are located at a distance from examination and treatment areas, which ensure that doctors are able to perform their job efficiently, Zu’bi said, stressing the need to address this issue.

Article (187) of the penal code states that an individual that assaults an employee while performing his or her job or due to actions taken while performing the duties of his or her post shall be subject to imprisonment of no less than six months. 

The JMA president explained that sometimes, when a doctor is assaulted, both the doctor and the patient or their relatives file complaints, leading prosecutors to handle the case as a quarrel. 

Most cases are resolved without any consequences to the assailants, as doctors commonly drop the charges, either because both parties reconciled, or to avoid long legal procedures, he added. 

The JMA provides doctors with access to legal assistance through three lawyers who are specialised in this type of cases, according to Zu’bi. 

Despite repeated attempts by The Jordan Times to contact the Health Ministry, officials were unavailable to comment.

However, Secretary-General of the Health Ministry for Primary Healthcare and Epidemiology Raed Shboul said that these assaults are isolated cases that do not constitute a phenomenon, Al Mamlaka TV reported in August 2022. 

The number of registered assault cases against doctors reached 81 in 2019, and decreased to 44 in 2020. In 2021, 50 assault cases were registered, and 36 were recorded in the first eleven months of 2022, Shboul added. 

In total, 42,364, doctors are registered with the association, 2,253 of which are deceased and 6,246 of which work in the public sector, according to the JMA.