Killing of nurse highlights neglected state of psychiatric services in France
Earlier this month a nurse was stabbed to death at a hospital in the northern French city of Reims; the person arrested over the killing is a psychiatric patient. This follows two other cases in recent decades in which staff have been killed by patients suffering from serious mental health issues. Politicians have now promised greater security in hospital settings. But as Mediapart's health correspondent Caroline Coq-Chodorge writes, it is government policies themselves that are behind the growing number of violent cases, with an undermined psychiatric service losing its relationship of trust with the mentally ill.
AA 59-year-old man with a history of psychiatric problems has been placed under investigation following the fatal stabbing of a nurse at the University Hospital of Reims in northern France on May 21st. The nurse, 39-year-old Carène Mezino, died from her wounds the following day. The suspect, named only as Franck F., is also being investigated for the attempted murder of a medical secretary, who was wounded during the same incident.
