Questioned by France Bleu Provence, Dr Raphaël Pinilla, member of the association for 20 years, considers a reorganization necessary “to ensure the safety of our colleagues at night”.
A doctor visiting the Pont-du-Las district of Toulon was attacked on the night of Monday January 17 to Tuesday January 18 by a man who stole his car, learned France Bleu Provence. Gathered in a general assembly, the doctors members of the association SOS Médecins Toulon Provence Méditerranée, announced to suspend visits and consultations until Thursday 8 a.m..
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The facts occurred around 2:30 am, after a consultation for an infant. While the carer was getting into his car, an individual allegedly burst in and pulled him out of the passenger compartment and then tackled to the ground before fleeing in the vehicle, which contained all his medical equipment.
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“The individual threw me to the ground. He tried to steal my keys and my phone. I threw my keys as far as possible to have time to escape and alert the police. I am shocked by the violence of the facts. Even if we know that an attack is always possible, we don’t get used to it. I am also revolted for my profession and my colleagues because we all do our best to intervene with patients and provide this service to the population“, testified to France Bleu the victim, member of SOS Doctors since 2015.
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The latter also filed a complaint overnight. His car would also have been found a few hours later, locked, and with all the equipment, near the place of the attack.
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“Stop home visits, except for life-threatening emergencies”
“There are fewer and fewer volunteers to do deep night shifts, that is to say between midnight and 6 am”, for his part lamented Doctor Gérald Dauphin, president of SOS Médecins Toulon, which has 51 associates and a dozen substitutes and replacements. “This kind of event will not help us recruit but will tend to scare our young colleagues.“, he added.
“Should we wait until there is a serious injury or a death to react? Dr. Raphaël Pinilla, a member of the association for 20 years, asked in turn. We must take the lead and are already thinking about reorganizing ourselves to ensure the safety of our colleagues at night. We could make consultations systematic in our offices in La Valette-du-Var and La Seyne-sur-Mer and stop home visits, except for life-threatening emergencies.»
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