Alicante ranked third last year for complaints presented to the National Police regarding physical attacks and threats against medical personnel. Police stations across the province recorded 21 complaints in 2022, six more than the prior year. Málaga and Sevilla led the country with 32 and 23 cases respectively.
The 2022 balance of aggression toward healthcare workers at the Canillas Police Complex, released by the National Police on Wednesday, shows a higher level of incidents than in 2021. Across the area, 8,000 police actions were documented, with 60 individuals detained at health centers and during in-home care visits.
The National Police notes that while physical attacks decreased, threats rose compared with 2021, continuing a national trend with 241 complaints logged last year. Nationwide, 59 National Police officers serve as regional health police interlocutors. Alicante has one inspector in this role, Jose Del Castillo, with authorities stressing that these interlocutors provide a continuous channel of communication with the health sector for education and preventive actions.
The data were shared at a press conference attended by Juan Carlos Castro Estévez, Commissioner-General for Citizen Security, and Manuel Yanguas Menendez, the national health police interlocutor. Representatives from university associations in Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine and Social Work, as well as Police Chiefs in health-related fields, were present.
241 complaints
In the province of Alicante, 15 complaints involved attacks and six involved threats, with the latter showing a notable rise. Of the 241 complaints nationwide in 2022, physical attacks accounted for 42 percent, while 68 percent of the complainants were doctors, nurses accounted for 24 percent, and technicians for 8 percent. The province also reported incidents in Orihuela, Denia, and Alicante, including a case where a doctor and a nurse at a health center had to seek police assistance after taking refuge at their homes.
Apart from the complaints, citizen safety officers reported 8,812 police actions in the health sector nationwide last year. Of these, 6,188 occurred during home health care visits, and 2,624 took place in health centers.
Analysis shows that Thursdays and Fridays recorded the highest incidence, with attacks clustering between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon.
educational activity
Among the initiatives highlighted were training and dissemination efforts aimed at preventing attacks in healthcare settings. This includes behavioral analysis programs for professionals such as health center guards and managers, as well as security staff education. Plans include prevention training across universities and early instruction on attack prevention for future healthcare workers, along with national courses for all health professionals and public awareness campaigns to strengthen presence in health centers and reduce violence in the sector.
Back in 2017, a directive from the Minister of State for Security set measures to counter attacks on healthcare workers. Since then, more than 1,000 individuals have completed training, and about 17,300 health sector professionals have enhanced communication channels with police and procedural teams to prevent violence and to respond effectively during any incident in the course of duty.