Assaults on health workers continue with death threat against nurse at children's hospital in Malaga
A nursing staff union has expressed its condemnation of the incident and pointed out that such episodes are becoming more and more frequent
Verbal and physical assaults on healthcare professionals are on the rise in Malaga province. The latest incident, reported by nursing union Satse, involved the parents of a child who allegedly insulted and threatened to kill a nurse at the Hospital Materno Infantil in Malaga city on 24 August 2025.
The incident happened "while the nurse was trying to arrange, together with the doctor, a bed for the admission of a minor, in order to ensure the best possible care. During this process, the nursing professional was subjected to verbal aggression and a death threat, which generated a feeling of great tension and vulnerability", according to the union
A hospital representative said that, "at the moment when the nursing professional was talking to the doctor in charge by telephone, the relatives wrongly interpreted that she was refusing to carry out the procedure". As a result, they reacted violently "with insults and serious death threats towards the worker".
"Faced with this situation, the hospital immediately activated the aggression protocol, offering assistance and support to the affected professional and communicating the facts to the competent authorities," the hospital explained.
"Increasingly frequent and serious problem"
Satse said that verbal and physical attacks on health workers are an "increasingly frequent and serious problem, with a direct impact on the safety of professionals and on the quality of care offered to patients".
The union also warned that these episodes "are aggravated by the lack of human and material resources". "The shortage of nursing professionals prevents the availability of 100% of the beds in the hospital centre, which hinders the management and organisation of care and, on many occasions, can lead to tension and even aggression towards health staff," the union stressed. Satse has urged the Andalusian public health service (SAS) and the hospital's management body to adopt measures to ensure the safety of professionals at their jobs, as well as to provide "sufficient human and structural resources to ensure quality care to patients and families in a safe environment".
Rally
Healthcare workers at Hospital Regional Universitario in Malaga held a rally at the entrance of the Materno Infantil on Tuesday, 26 August, to show their condemnation of the verbal aggression and support for the nurse.
The management body of the health facility has stated that this type of behaviour, in addition to being intolerable, "constitutes a serious attack on the safety of healthcare professionals, who carry out their work every day for the benefit of patients".
The Hospital Regional has reiterated its commitment to put an end to any form of violence and calls on society to respect the work of health professionals at all times.
