The Italian army is to guard medical
staff in a Calabria hospital after a string of attacks on
doctors and nurses across southern Italy.
In order to combat and prevent the phenomenon of assaults on
health personnel, the army will keep watch over the hospital in
Vibo Valentia, the Gazzetta del Sud reported, saying the
decision was taken by Prefect Paolo Giovanni Grieco and is part
of a plan to reshape the surveillance services already operated
by the Army on sensitive targets in the Vibo Valentia area as
part of the 'Strade sicure' (Safe Streets) operation.
The director of Foggia's Policlinico Riuniti hospital has
threatened to close its emergency room after a spate of attacks
on health personnel continued with three assaults in less than a
week.
The attacks include a near riot when health personnel were
punched and injured by a mob led by relatives of a 23-year-old
woman from the nearby town of Cerignola who died during surgery
after being involved in a car accident some weeks
before.
The events in Foggia are part of a series of acts of violence on
health professionals in Italy, which has led to the national
guild of doctors to call for the army to be drafted in to ensure
the safety of hospital staff.
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