Early on in the pandemic here, there were reports of nurses being ostracized in public, in coffee shops, and on public transport.
Some were openly abused, like one nurse whose friendly neighbour mocked, cursed, and sprayed disinfecting solution at him every time he came back home.
Just as we suspected, an increasing number of healthcare workers have been abused ever since the coronavirus landed on our shores.
Cases of Abuse and Harassment Towards Public Healthcare Workers Seeing An Increase
The number of abuse and harassment cases of public healthcare workers has increased from 1,080 in 2018 to 1,300 last year, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in response to a parliamentary question.
Such cases involving on-duty public healthcare workers that were reported to the police also rose from 40 to 58.
One such victim of this abuse was a health attendant at Singapore General Hospital. Amir (not his real name) told CNA that a patient once punched him so hard that his nose started bleeding.
Why?
Because he was trying to stop the patient from leaving his ward.
Types of Abuse
Abuse can be verbal, like shouting and threatening, or physical, which can include pushing and hitting.
Some even throw a punch at healthcare workers or spit at them.
And sometimes, even the patient’s relatives can become abusive if they can’t visit for any reason.
Reasons For Abuse
Contrary to what many of us think, these cases of abuse don’t always result from hostility and aggression.
Sometimes, patients with behavioural issues or mental illness can lash out when they are unable to express their needs or discomfort.
According to senior nurse clinician Pauline Chong, physical assault cases at Alexandra Hospital (AH) are common with older patients with dementia and behavioural problems.
Since they can’t express their needs, like thirst, hunger, and toileting, they grow frustrated become physically aggressive.
Some of these people also feel vulnerable in a new environment with unfamiliar people, especially when they live alone and have no familial support.
This includes elderly patients with dementia.
This is why AH distinguishes between patients who are angry, aggressive, and depressed and those who are mentally ill, or anxious and stressed.
Inexcusable Cases
On the other hand, there are cases of abuse and harassment which are hard to defend.
SGH’s chief communications officer Jennifer Wee said some patients make unreasonable demand for extra services such as requests for staff members to purchase carbonated drinks or give preferential treatment, and become abusive when refused.
There were also cases of aggression in SGH where there was no obvious provocation.
In other words, they were feeling angry or upset about something and decided to take it out on the healthcare workers around them.
Frontline staff are usually the victims of abuse, including doctors, nurses, as well as healthcare assistants and attendants.
In SGH, when an employee experiences abuse, they will first seek assistance from colleagues nearby.
The supervisor will then talk to the angry patient or next-of-kin, and try to calm them down.
If this doesn’t work and staff safety is at risk, hospital security will be alerted. If the patient still cannot be calmed down, the police may have to be called in.
Nurses Feel Discouraged After Abuse
Ms Chong said nurses who experience abuse may feel discouraged and down when they encounter such patients, and understandably so.
This is why nurses are educated on psychology and human behaviours during induction and refresher training.
Mr Gan also said that there are measures in place to help healthcare workers who have been harassed and abused.
This includes helplines, anonymised counselling support services on and off campus by institutions and community providers, and peer support programmes for affected staff.
Mr Gan reminded the public to treat healthcare workers with respect and dignity and that any form of verbal or physical abuse of staff will not be tolerated.
Featured Image: Boyloso/Shutterstock.com
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