ROMA (ITALPRESS) – In 2025 there were almost 18 thousand attacks on health and social workers with over 23 thousand operators (23.367), considering that a single episode can affect more people. These are the data that emerge from the Annual Report of the National Observatory on the safety of exhibitors the health and social-sanitary professions published on the website of the Ministry of Health, on the occasion of the National Day of Education and Prevention against violence against health and social-health workers celebrated on March 12. The Report also shows a substantial stability of the reports, in a slight decrease compared to the year 2024 (18.392) and an increase in the total number of assaults, which ranges from about 22,000 in 2024 to over 23,000 in 2025.
“The safety of those who take care of our health is an absolute priority – says the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci – The aggression against health workers is an unacceptable phenomenon and for this we intervened firmly. We have tightened the pains for attackers, until we stop in deferred scourage, and we constantly work to strengthen measures to prevent violence against staff and safety in health facilities. Protecting health professionals and socio-sanitary workers is not only a duty but a guarantee for citizens to have quality and safer care.”.
The aggressors are mainly patients, followed by family/caregiver and, as in 2024, a clear prevalence of verbal aggression (69%) compared to physical ones (25%) and against property (6%). Females are the most affected, with a percentage exceeding 60% in most regions. The episodes of violence, physical or verbal, mainly concern nursing staff (55%), followed by doctors (16%) and socio-sanitary operators (OSS) (11%).
12% of the reports, then, concern other professional categories, such as non-health employees and operators in front office (3%), vigilants, rescuers, etc. (9%). Assaults occur mainly in hospitals, with the ER, the Psychiatric Services of Diagnosis and Care (SPDC) and the Areas of Degence as more critical places. Reports in Penitentiary Institutes (428 vs 433) remain stable compared to last year. It should be specified that a higher result is probably an index of a more widespread signaling culture rather than a higher number of aggressions. The Ministry of Health has updated the Ministerial Recommendation n. 8 for the prevention of acts of violence against health workers.
The new Recommendation extends the scope of application, including not only healthcare and socio-sanitary personnel, but also all operators involved in care and care activities, as well as those engaged in support services, such as front office staff and CUPs. Actions are indicated for the strengthening of the culture of reporting episodes of violence and the analysis of working contexts to identify risk factors and vulnerability situations as well as organizational and preventive measures for health structures.
Among these, the attacking employee’s taking charge by psychologically supporting it, the organization of training events to understand the importance of reporting acts of violence. Moreover, the update of the Recommendation recalls the recent norms that provide for the institution of police officers at the health facilities that are equipped with an emergency-emergency department, facilitating also the coordination with the Police Forces or other subjects that can provide a valid support to identify strategies to eliminate or attenuate violence in health and social services.
In order to reduce the risk factors associated with violence, the document recommends, where possible, the provision of safety systems such as panic buttons or portable alarms in places where the risk is high, CCTV video surveillance systems h24, in compliance with privacy, and if necessary fixed or portable metal-detectors as well as the use of audio/video and/or body-cam devices for the most at risk.
The Recommendation also highlights the need to implement interventions to minimize the stress factors that can be developed by users to harm the operators, such as comfortable reception rooms, the installation of alerts that inform the patients waiting for the possible overcrowding and, in strategic places ( departments, waiting room, reception) the use of signage with messages to raise awareness and inform citizens that acts of violence constitute crime.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
