A stretcher bearer in intensive care after being attacked at Challans hospital, in Vendée

A stretcher bearer is in intensive care after being “beaten up by several people” accompanying two patients to Challans hospital, Saturday in Vendée, announced Sunday April 7 to AFP the president of Samu-Ergences de France (SUdF), Marc Noizet.

Saturday, late morning, “Several people who were accompanying two patients in this department began to get angry because they were frustrated, either by the waiting time or because they were not allowed to enter the service alongside patients”explained Marc Noizet. “They beat a stretcher bearer who was passing by, and they fled, leaving this victim on the ground, unconscious”he added, specifying that the stretcher bearer “suffered serious injuries which put him in intensive care even today.”

The emergency department has been temporarily closed

Following this attack, the emergency department of Challans hospital was closed “for several hours”, according to Marc Noizet. The Minister for Health Frédéric Valletoux denounced on “heinous and cowardly act”. “A hospital is a sanctuary. No violence against healthcare staff can be tolerated”he said, supporting the “emergency stretcher bearer seriously injured”.

Marc Noizet also expressed his “anger” that “caregivers may be subject to violence”. “We cannot be the variable of the anxiety, aggressiveness or violence of patients and those who accompany them.”