France’s medical profession is in a state of shock after the fatal stabbing of a nurse on Monday at a hospital in Reims. It comes as a new report revealed a sharp increase in attacks on health professionals, reports Radio France Internationale.
The 39-year-old nurse was stabbed inside a cloakroom at the University Hospital of Reims, in north-eastern France.
She succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday morning.
An enquiry into attempted murder has been opened.
The chief suspect, a 59-year-old man with a history of psychiatric problems, is under investigation for attempted murder.
He also stabbed a 56-year-old medical secretary, but her injuries are not life-threatening.
France’s health minister, François Braun, has called for a minute’s silence in hospitals on Wednesday. He said he would organise a committee of unions and health professionals this week “to see what can be done to ensure the security of health workers”.
Government spokesperson Olivier Véran said this kind of violence had “no place” in France.
“She devoted her life to protecting and saving the lives of others, and died in a violent way,” Véran told France Inter public radio on Tuesday.
The nurse’s death has deeply shocked France’s nursing profession.
“We’ve reached a stage where we need to do something, because these acts of aggression are more and more violent,” Daniel Guillerm, president of the National Nursing Federation, told France Info radio.
While a few years ago attacks were mainly verbal, now they were becoming more physical, he said.
The nurse's death coincides with the publication of a report revealing violence against doctors in France has never been higher.
The report by the Observatoire pour la securité des medecins, a safety watchdog set up by France's Order of Physicians, found that the number of violent incidents against doctors had increased by 23 percent in 2022.
Doctors declared 1,244 incidents – the highest figure in the last 20 years.
Seven out of the 10 doctors who reported incidents – whether verbal or physical – are GPs. Most are practising in city centres (56 percent), 21 percent are in rural areas and 19 percent in the suburbs.