A doctor was attacked on Monday, August 5, 2024, at the Simone-Veil health center in Saint-Clément. The practitioner filed a complaint. His alleged attacker was arrested at the health center and taken into police custody.
He had never experienced this in thirty years of practice. On Monday, August 5, 2024, the president of the Senone branch of SOS Médecins, Jean-Luc Dinet, was taken to task by a patient. Upset and shocked, the practitioner decided to file a complaint.
“He is a patient in pain who lacks a treating physician. He did not get the answer he was expecting. It was violent, because he had left before returning to my office to attack me while I was in consultation with another patient and her child,” the general practitioner testified the day after the incident. The altercation took place at the Simone-Veil health center in Saint-Clément. The alleged attacker was arrested on the spot. He was then taken into custody. The video surveillance tapes were made available to the police.
Two precedents in Auxerre
In thirty years and nearly a million medical procedures, no assault had occurred at the SOS Médecins de Sens branch. However, this has become commonplace for “all health professionals”. “We have all the lights on green to protect ourselves in terms of security; nevertheless, zero risk does not exist. We are a group practice, so my partner also intervened. With the complaint, justice will do its job”, comments Jean-Luc Dinet.
The doctor from Sens was able to count on the effectiveness of the internal protection system at SOS Médecins. Thanks to software, he was able to alert the on-call service and the police. “I clicked on a button during the attack, the police intervened in four minutes. I expressed my satisfaction to the sub-prefect of Sens (Wassim Kamel, editor’s note) who called me today,” emphasizes Jean-Luc Dinet. The system works similarly for home visits, with doctors being geolocated.
Attacks at SOS Médecins: “They are attacking the police, the firefighters and now the doctors”
In December 2023, a patient had already attacked a SOS Médecins practitioner, this time in Auxerre. On February 1, 2024, another Auxerre doctor from the Federation filed a complaint after being verbally assaulted by a patient’s husband. Initially closed without further action, the investigation was reopened by the Auxerre public prosecutor’s office, the public prosecutor, Hugues de Phily, subsequently announced.
According to government data, on average, 65 healthcare professionals are victims of physical or verbal assault every day. Violence committed against a healthcare professional in the exercise of their duties is considered an aggravating circumstance. The perpetrators are liable to up to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine depending on the seriousness of the acts.
Alexis Gaucher and Thomas Ribierre
