Spain’s Costa Blanca has the third highest number of attacks and threats against healthcare workers in the country

The PROVINCE OF ALICANTE registered last year the third highest number of attacks and threats against health workers in Spain according to the National Police.

The region had 16 assaults last year, six more than in 2021, with five people additionally charged with threatening conduct.

One of the most dramatic cases was in a health center in Alicante where a doctor and a nurse were attacked.

They had to lock themselves in a room to protect themselves from the attacker before calling the police.

The province of Alicante has a police inspector, José del Castillo, who acts as a liaison with the health sector to advise and train workers on how to deal with aggressive situations.

241 complaints were processed throughout Spain in 2022 and physical attacks decreased in favor of verbal threats.

Physicians were the most vulnerable, participating in 68% of the incidents, followed by nurses in 24%.

The National Police say they plan to intensify the training of health personnel and will launch a campaign to warn citizens about the consequences of being violent towards doctors.