“Urgently more safety for general practitioners”, says Orde Geneesheren
This hostage case is reminiscent of the murder of GP Patrick Roelandt from Izegem, almost 7 years ago. Remarkably enough, few or no measures have been taken for the safety of general practitioners since that time.
“Little has changed since the murder of doctor Roelandt”
Doctor Roelandt was on a home visit in Ingelmunster when a patient killed him with a stab in the neck. The patient received the maximum sentence of 30 years for this. But this case has structurally changed little for the safety of general practitioners, as it turns out almost 7 years after the facts. Lieven Wostyn, chairman of the provincial council of the Order of Physicians:
“At the moment, little has happened, except perhaps the out-of-hours GP posts where it might be safer to stay, and accompanied driving to the patients, with a driver.”
“Alarm button is ideal”
But it can be better, and it must be better. Because aggression against general practitioners and care providers in general is still increasing. There is still no official protocol for what a general practitioner should do in unsafe situations.
“There should be a guideline,” says Lieven Wostyn. “The government must take certain initiatives. Certain initiatives must come from the general practitioner circles that organize the on-call services. The doctor must also not bury his head in the sand and must provide the necessary security systems with alarm systems.
The ideal scenario is that he only has to press one button that triggers an alarm, so that immediate action can be taken.”
Consultation with GP circles
And at night there should always be someone extra on the road with the GP, especially with unknown patients. Consultations with the GP circles and the police should now provide more clarity.