Three Nurses Attacked by Patient at Taranto Hospital

Taranto: Three nurses were attacked by a patient in the night between Friday and Saturday at the Moscati Hospital in Taranto, healthcare sources said Monday. The patient was hospitalized in the otolaryngology ward of the Puglia hospital and was in “an altered psycho-physical state”, the sources said. The three nurses, all women, were kicked and punched by the man before they were able to alert the psychiatrist on night duty who sedated the patient. The three healthcare operators, who were given a three-day prognosis, have so far not filed a complaint against the patient. The incident reported in Taranto was the latest in a string of attacks on healthcare workers by patients and relatives across Italy.

According to Ansa News Agency, in 2024, figures released this month showed there were 18,000 assaults on healthcare personnel, with a 38% increase in the last five years. Some 42% of staff, mostly women, report having been the victim of physical or psychological assaults at least once in their work.