Morocco’s Health Minister Calls for Legal Action Against Violence Targeting Medical Staff

In a letter addressed to the chief of staff, the health inspectors and the directors of the central and regional administrations of the Ministry of Health, the minister denounced acts of violence "repetitive, unjustified and unacceptable", which employees of hospital institutions often face.

These attacks "constitute acts contrary to the law and are just as unjustified as unacceptable, whatever their motivations or causes, and also denote a lack of consideration and gratitude due to health professionals and the great sacrifices they continue to make in the service of citizens," the minister stressed.

Consequently, the authority called for initiating legal proceedings in the event of an attack against employees of the hospital environment in the exercise of their duties. Thus, emergency intervention mechanisms, particularly in the event of verbal and physical violence, must be taken to ensure immediate protection for abused employees and to preserve the safety of the rest of the staff and patients.

The minister also asked to provide psychological support and accompaniment to the abused employees and to give them medical certificates specifying the nature of the psychological and physical damage they suffered as a result of the attack.

He also asked to guide them to prosecute the perpetrators of the attack, and to support them by requesting the contracting lawyer of the relevant regional directorate in order to initiate legal action against the aggressor.