ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021- The Croatian Chamber of Nurses (HKMS) on Thursday asked the Ministry of the Interior to deploy police patrols around medical institutions more often and the Ministry of Justice to amend the criminal code and grant health workers the status of officials.

That would increase security for health workers and provide them with a safe working environment, the HKMS said in a statement prompted by a recent assault on patients in the accident and emergency area of the KBC Zagreb hospital.

"The incident at KBC Zagreb is not an isolated case of attack on nurses in the course of their duties. Cases of psychological harassment, shouting, and threats directed at health workers by patients, their families, and other people have become part of everyday life for many health workers," HKMS president Mario Gazić said.

He warned that violence against nurses and other health workers was an increasing problem that might escalate to the point of becoming a threat to their lives.

Citing the results of an HKMS survey conducted in 2018, Gazić said that 95 percent of nurses considered the present physical protection and security in medical institutions to be inadequate and that 73 percent of institutions reported attacks on nurses.

The survey revealed that 89 percent of nurses had experienced verbal or physical violence in the course of their duties, half of the institutions did not have a 24-hour security service and nine percent had such a service only during the night.

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ZAGREB, 4 Oct 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Monday 6,236 health workers in some 60 medical institutions were tested today, when COVID certificate mandate was introduced in the health sector, and that 20 of the tests came back positive.

"That's another irrefutable argument that the measures are necessary for protecting patients and workers," he tweeted.

Not one test came back negative and four staff did not show up for testing at KBC Zagreb, Croatia's biggest hospital, where a protest was held this morning against mandatory certificates and testing.

As of today, every employee in the health and social care sectors, as well as visitors, must have a COVID certificate. Medical workers without it must be tested twice a week.

The chambers of physicians and nurses supported the mandatory certificates, saying they will contribute to patient's safety, while condemning the protests held outside some hospitals, saying they disrupted the peace patients need for their treatment.

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ZAGREB, 23 Sept 2021 -  Health Minister Vili Beroš informed a cabinet meeting on Thursday that the number of health workers who have been inoculated has increased, adding that almost 90% of doctors have been vaccinated against COVID.

"So far nine out of ten doctors in Croatia have been vaccinated. Last week the increase in the number of people inoculated in the healthcare sector was two and a half times greater than the week before that."

"With 68% of health workers inoculated, and those who have obtained immunity after recovering from COVID, and with the introduction of COVID certificates in the healthcare system in October, I expect all processes within the hospital system to function normally," Minister Beroš said.

He said that hospitals were successfully managing the challenges of the fourth wave of the epidemic and gradually increasing their capacities. The Split hospital is under a lot of pressure with a large number of the gravest COVID cases and with only 10% of hospitalized patients being vaccinated.

Croatia has so far administered 3,388,015 doses of vaccines, and 53% of the adult population has been vaccinated, with 49.82% having received both doses.

Waiting lists reduced 31%

Beroš said that waiting lists had been reduced by 31% compared to the pre-pandemic period. This can be attributed to fewer patients coming in for examinations.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović recalled that the national COVID response team had allowed conferences and fairs to be held in closed premises as an important economic activity. That could be expanded if we have a greater number of citizens who have been vaccinated, he said.

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