The death of a doctor in Krakow. Łukasz Jankowski and Robert Gałązkowski comment

An unimaginable situation occurred. We are outraged, but also powerless – said in “Facts after Facts” on TVN24 Łukasz Jankowski, president of the Supreme Medical Council, referring to a brutal attack on a doctor in a hospital in Krakow. – I asked myself yesterday: is what happened yesterday is a sign of the times in which we live? – asked Professor Robert Gałązkowski from the Medical University of Warsaw.

On Tuesday morning, a doctor of the Krakow University Hospital was attacked. A 35-year-old man burst into the office where the orthopedist examined the patient and attacked the doctor with a knife. The wounds were so severe that despite the immediate help of medical staff, it could not be saved.

The court arrested on Wednesday for three months a 35-year-old prison officer suspected of killing a doctor.

Łukasz Jankowski talked about the situation after the murder of the doctor in “Facts after Facts” on TVN24, President of the Supreme Medical Council and Professor Robert Gałązkowski from the Medical University of Warsaw, former director of the Air Ambulance.

Doctor Jankowski: We are outraged, but also powerless

Jankowski said that what happened in Krakow was “an unimaginable situation”. – The staff who fought for our colleague's life can count on our solidarity, can count on our support. Today, the situation in health care is very difficult, and our environment actually asks questions – he said.

– We are outraged, but also powerless in the face of the enormity of this tragedy that has become. Powerless in the face of the fact that we are really alone in the face of hate, in the face of aggression, that the state that was supposed to protect medics did not really protect us – he continued. He added that “we are dealing with something unimaginable.”

“I asked myself – is this a sign of the times in which we live?”

Professor Gałązkowski, talking about attacks on representatives of medical staff, reminded that In January in Siedlce, a paramedic was dead. “I thought that there would be some mute in the nation, but it didn't happen,” he said.

– I asked myself yesterday: is what happened yesterday is a sign of the times in which we live? Maybe this is a bold thesis, but I convince her (ed.) – he admitted.

– We learn that the doctor who accepts in the clinic is brutally murdered by a man who came to do it, because nobody with good intention goes to the doctor with a sharp tool. We learn about subsequent elements, about some mental problems of this person, about some dissatisfaction with how the doctor treated him – Professor Gałązkowski continued.

In his opinion, “this matter has a wider dimension.” – Because I dare say that we as a society have lost ourselves somewhere. Today, there is no authority, (occurs – ed.) Hate of man to man, frustration, personality disorders, mental disorders that accompany us. We entered a civilization rush that kills what is most important: empathy, understanding and respect for other people – said TVN24 guest.

“We must be sure that the state will protect us”

Doctor Jankowski also talked about the need for changes in medical staff protection procedures. – We need urgent changes, above all when it comes to procedures. A doctor who reports hate or aggression to the police or prosecutor's office must be sure that real actions will follow this notification. We feel that the lack of the punishment is inevitable, emboldens the perpetrators of aggression on medical staff – he pointed out.

– From the details of the nurses' trade union (the National Association of Nurses – ed.), 98 percent of nurses witnessed aggression at the workplace. This is alarming – said the president of the Supreme Medical Council.

– This means that almost every medic has encountered aggression during our work. We must be sure that the state will protect us, that the fact that as public officials we have protection, it is not only a name or entry in the act, but it is a reality – he added.