Reported assaults on doctors, nurses and other medical staff in Jordan's public hospitals have fallen sharply over the past decade, but medical officials warn the phenomenon remains a serious professional and national concern that demands more than after-the-fact legal action, according to a report by Al-Ghad.
اضافة اعلان
A knowledgeable union source told Al-Ghad that recorded assault cases in public-sector hospitals dropped from about 111 in 2016 to roughly 44 in each of the past two years, a decline of more than half. The source attributed the improvement to several factors, chief among them upgrades to public health services following extensive modernization work at Ministry of Health hospitals, along with increases in medical and nursing staff and improved resources.
The source said the ministry's budget rose from about 550 million dinars in 2016 to roughly 833 million dinars currently, adding that the increased spending translated directly into better healthcare quality and improved working conditions in hospitals.
Union efforts to pursue assault cases, including retaining lawyers and following cases through the courts, have also helped curb the problem, the source said, alongside growing awareness among doctors and health workers of how to manage interactions with patients, particularly in emergency departments.
Emergency departments account for about 93 percent of recorded assault cases, the source said, describing them as the most sensitive points of contact in hospitals, where patients often arrive in difficult physical and psychological states, frequently accompanied by family members under significant stress.
Most recorded assaults fall into the minor-to-moderate category and are handled through standard procedures, the source said, cautioning against placing blanket blame on either doctors or patients, since individual cases exist where a provider bears some responsibility, though these are not the norm.
The source called for specialized training for doctors before they begin fieldwork, covering not only technical and medical skills but also communication with patients and families, de-escalation techniques and managing tense situations, arguing that newly graduated doctors should not move directly from exams into emergency department work without adequate practical preparation.
The source added that a joint effort with various health unions is underway to study the causes of these assaults and develop structural solutions, noting that doctors are most frequently targeted, followed by nurses, with fewer incidents involving pharmacists and dentists.
"No Longer Isolated Incidents"
Dr. Muzaffar al-Jalamdeh, secretary of the Jordan Medical Association, said assaults on medical staff have moved beyond isolated incidents or personal disputes to become a troubling professional and national issue with direct consequences for the work environment, care quality and sector stability.
Jalamdeh said assaults, whether physical, verbal or psychological, undermine the safety and dignity of medical staff and strike at one of the foundational pillars of any functioning health system. He said hospital guidelines are clear that such incidents must be recorded as assaults on an employee performing official duties, not treated as personal quarrels between individuals.
Most hospitals now understand the legal and administrative procedures required when such assaults occur, he said, but the problem often arises afterward, when many affected doctors fail to see legal proceedings through to their conclusion.
Jalamdeh said workplace pressures and heavy caseloads push some doctors to waive their rights or accept informal settlements, which frequently close cases before they reach the courts.
Only a limited number of assault cases reach a judicial ruling, he said, while most end in out-of-court settlements, a pattern that weakens deterrence and complicates efforts to address the problem.
Jalamdeh said the persistence of these incidents requires a deeper look at their causes and scale, describing assaults on medical staff as no longer isolated cases but a phenomenon requiring evidence-based solutions and clear institutional and legislative reform to protect health workers' dignity while preserving patients' right to care in an environment of mutual respect and rule of law.
Despite the relative decline in assault numbers, Jalamdeh said eliminating the problem entirely requires a comprehensive approach that includes stronger security measures inside health facilities, updated legislation, training for staff in managing tense situations, and greater public awareness of the seriousness of assaulting healthcare providers.
"Part of the problem lies in staffing shortages at a number of institutions, along with the concentration of most assault cases in ambulance and emergency departments, which typically face heavy patient loads," Jalamdeh added.
A National Database Is Still Missing
Dr. Mu'men Suleiman al-Hadidi, a founding member of the Medical Ethics Committee, said assaults on health workers in Jordan have declined in recent years, but said the continued occurrence of such incidents underscores the need for stricter measures to protect doctors, nurses, technicians and other health-sector employees.
Hadidi said available data shows recorded assault cases fell from 116 in 2018 to 36 last year. He noted, however, that no unified, published national database currently tracks all categories of health workers or classifies assaults by type and severity, meaning the full scope of the problem requires further documentation and study.
A decline in numbers does not mean the problem has ended, Hadidi said, since every assault represents a breach of the human and professional relationship between patients and healthcare providers. He said assaults on medical professionals are categorically unacceptable and cannot be justified under any circumstances.
Hadidi said the continued occurrence of these incidents confirms they must be treated as more than isolated events, pointing to a recent assault on a specialist physician inside the intensive care unit at Al-Bashir Hospital, as well as similar incidents at Prince Hamzah Hospital and several regional hospitals.
Most assaults are concentrated in emergency departments, where patients arrive at their most vulnerable, Hadidi said, adding that most cases occur in the public sector and that a large share of perpetrators are patients' companions, warranting closer study of what drives such behavior and the conditions that escalate tension in health facilities.
He said assaults typically begin with verbal threats or abuse before escalating to physical contact and, in some cases, injuries requiring treatment, noting that the health sector has previously recorded serious injuries resulting from such assaults.
Confronting the problem requires firm legal deterrents alongside a stronger role for civil society organizations in building a culture that rejects assaults on healthcare workers as shameful and unacceptable, Hadidi said. He said the medical profession and allied health fields are built on ethical and humanitarian traditions that make respect for human dignity central to practice, a standard that should be upheld and protected first and foremost by patients and their families.
Hadidi called for instilling professional and ethical conduct among healthcare providers early, starting in medical education, and turning those principles into daily practices of compassionate care toward patients and families to help reduce tension and build trust within health institutions.
He said protecting health workers cannot rely solely on punishment after the fact, but must also address workplace conditions that raise stress and fatigue, particularly long working hours, calling for better scheduling and reduced burnout among doctors and health workers.
Uprooting hostility toward healthcare providers, he said, requires addressing its causes through a combination of legal, educational and professional measures that ensure a safe working environment while preserving patients' right to care built on mutual respect and trust.
