Two separate incidents of violence in healthcare settings in Istanbul and Malatya in October 2025 have once again brought the safety of healthcare workers onto the agenda. The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and professional health organizations are calling for “systematic, not temporary measures,” while healthcare managers emphasize that violence is not only a security problem but also an issue of service quality and employee engagement.
October Marked Once Again by Violence
An attempted assault on a dentist during an examination in Istanbul and a physical attack on a physician in Malatya on the grounds that a medical report was not issued have shown that violence in healthcare remains a structural problem in Türkiye. Following these incidents, healthcare workers staged short work stoppages and issued press statements in protest.
Professional organizations note that the number of reported “beyaz kod” (white code) incidents over the year remains high, indicating that current regulations have limited deterrent effect.
A Common Message from Professional Bodies: “Permanent, Not Temporary Measures”
The TTB and relevant specialist associations stress that condemnatory statements released after each incident are not sufficient on their own, and that a permanent, inter-institutional, coordinated violence prevention programme must be implemented. Their main demands can be summarized as follows:
Violence against healthcare workers should be classified in the Turkish Penal Code as a catalogue offence with unequivocal sanctions.
Risk-based security planning should be implemented in hospitals and family health centres.
Perpetrators of violence should face restrictions on receiving care or making appointments at the same healthcare facility.
Psychosocial support and burnout monitoring programmes should be provided for healthcare workers.
Data on violence should be reported regularly and transparently.
From a health management perspective, these demands fit into the equation “employee safety = service continuity.” In institutions where violence is frequent, absenteeism, intention to leave the organization and declines in patient satisfaction tend to occur together—creating a direct cost for managers.
Why Is This a Health Management Issue?
Violence in healthcare is often treated solely as a “criminal case,” yet it is in fact a process that can be managed:
Service organization: Management-related stress points such as long waiting times, complex referral pathways and difficulties in obtaining appointments can trigger violence.
Communication and visible information: Clearly informing patients and their relatives that shouting at or making physical contact with physicians or nurses constitutes a criminal offence has been shown to reduce incidents.
Employee support systems: Providing not only legal but also psychological support after violent incidents strengthens staff trust in the institution.
Therefore, from university hospitals to primary care, institutional violence-prevention protocols need to be updated and post-incident procedures standardized. This falls squarely within the remit of healthcare managers.
In Conclusion
The successive cases seen in October 2025 once again demonstrate that violence in healthcare is not an issue that “occasionally flares up,” but a problem that must be managed systematically. While professional organizations call for lasting legal and regulatory measures, healthcare managers point to the need to strengthen the service design and communication dimensions.
In short, this is not merely about “one person’s anger”; it is about a health system that fails to provide safe working conditions. For that reason, it seems likely to remain on the agenda for some time.
