Bologna, August 31, 2026 – Another assault against a healthcare worker at the Maggiore hospital: the OSS was slapped in the face, causing facial trauma and a seven-day prognosis. The report comes from Cisl Fp, specifying that this is the third case in a few days.
What happened on Sunday
The operator, accompanied by a colleague, was transporting the patient to the Red Room area (where high severity situations are treated, editor’s note). During the journey, one healthcare worker moved away and the other stayed with the user, a North African citizen. Suddenly, the man attacked her hitting her squarely in the face. A slap so loud it echoed down the corridor, where other colleagues immediately rushed. The subject hit the worker on the left side of the face, also knocking off her glasses. Result: facial trauma with bruising on the left cheek and a seven-day prognosis.
The victim was immediately treated by colleagues and then filed a report at the police station located inside the hospital.
The union’s alarm: “A warning bell that cannot be ignored”
Full solidarity with the assaulted employee: “We condemn these episodes of violence,” which are “a warning bell that cannot be ignored. The assaults show that the safety of healthcare workers is now a real emergency – says Michele Vaira, territorial secretary of Cisl Fp Metropolitan Area Bologna -. We cannot wait for an even more serious incident to occur before intervening. Those working in Emergency Rooms and emergency areas, psychiatric services, and all care services and units must be put in conditions to work safely.” For this reason, “prevention, adequately staffed personnel, and truly effective security measures are needed.”
The union also urges the Usl Company to seriously consider requests on safety in hospital complexes: “We ask for a meeting with the institutions to understand which tools to implement.”
Previous incidents
A few days ago, another assault at Maggiore, but in the Emergency Medicine area, where a nurse was physically attacked during her shift: the healthcare worker was in the room where the patient, an Italian citizen, was hospitalized and was punched. The man also tried to grab her by the neck, throwing her against the wall. A few weeks ago, another case at the emergency room of Sant’Orsola.
