The Castilla-La Mancha Health Service (Sescam) is committed to: Creation of unique administrative procedures that make it possible to sanction people who attack medical professionalsEven if such conduct is already classified as a crime, … There is a judicial solution.
This was announced by Iñigo Cortázar, Head of Human Resources at Sescam, who stated that the aim is to be able to implement this measure. Effective in 2026, By including the law associated with it according to local budgets.
As Mr. Cortázar explained, this would be a legal reform that would allow violations that constitute crimes to also be subject to administrative sanctions.
The Human Resources Director recalled that this proposal arose as a result of an attempted murder case that occurred in the town of Camarena (Toledo) in 2018. In this case, the perpetrator was acquitted by the defense assessed by the judge, and Sescam could not impose administrative sanctions on him.
“at the moment, If a judge or court determines that the violation is a crime, Sescam may not apply sanctions to that extent. As a health administration through sanctions procedures,” Cortázar elaborated.
The Director-General emphasized that the objectives of this reform are: Avoiding impunity and strengthening protection for health professionals. “We want to be able to respond administratively to attacks of this type, such as the one that had a serious impact on the professionals affected in Camarena,” he concluded.
Similarly, he The appearance of Sescam’s security manager, Who will be responsible for coordinating the specialist protection policy, which will be implemented “for the first time across the entire national healthcare system”.
687 incidents will occur in 2024
all year round In 2024, 687 incidents occurred in Castilla-La ManchaOf these, 19 were physical attacks against health workers, a decrease compared to 2023, when 20 were recorded, and this data is reflected in Sescam’s Conflict Episode Record (REC). Of these cases, 147 ended in sanctions proceedings, and “others ended in prosecution,” Cortázar noted.
33% of healthcare workers have been attacked in the past year, 29% of nursing staff, 4% of security staff and 14% of administrative staff.
Regarding the gender of the healthcare workers attacked, 76% of the professionals were female and 22% were male; 48% were between 35 and 55 years old, 22% were over 55 years old, and 30% were under 35 years old.
Regarding the possible profile of the aggressor, Sescam’s Human Resources Director explained that it can be concluded as follows:“There is no criminal profile.”
A report on attacks against professionals in the national health system, prepared jointly by the Ministry of Health and 17 autonomous communities, provides an attack rate per 1,000 professionals. Descendants of Castile-La Mancha 16.48 in 2023 and 16.13 in 2024.
This rate will also decline in primary care, decreasing from 28.81 per 1,000 professionals to 28.02 in 2024. This rate is “34% lower than the national health system average”.
Cortázar said he was not satisfied with Sescam and would not stop working to protect professionals “with the non-negotiable goal of achieving the goal of zero attacks.”
About The Author
