Doctor punched at Paola health centre

Health centre doctors have threatened to down their stethoscopes if another one of them is abused by patients.

The warning comes after a 44-year-old doctor was punched in the face by a patient at the Paola health centre on Thursday in what was described by the Medical Association of Malta as "the tip of the iceberg".

The incident happened just eight weeks after a security guard at the same clinic was allegedly manhandled by the relatives of a patient.

The doctor walked into the waiting area and was punched by an angry patient. The reason for the attack is still unknown but the police are investigating.

"We will not allow our doctors to work in an unsafe environment," MAM president Martin Balzan said, adding that verbal abuse of doctors was widespread.

He said doctors at government health centres were very short-staffed, with 55 medics doing the work of 120. "They are under a lot of pressure to do their job and, on top of it all, they are being harassed by patients and relatives," he said. Dr Balzan said the situation at the Paola health centre was the worst.

Although the Health Division recently stepped up security at health centres, the situation is still not satisfactory to the union. "Unless it is rectified as soon as possible, MAM may be forced to direct its members not to provide services in those health centres where security is not considered adequate," the association has warned.

Dr Balzan said waiting rooms at health centres should be sealed off from the clinic area, similarly to Mater Dei Hospital's emergency department.

No comments were forthcoming from the Health Division.