What should patients know about Imelda Hospital’s campaign against aggression?

Posters, social-media messages and internal communications will make the campaign visible inside and outside the hospital. Imelda has also established a multidisciplinary aggression working group to examine reports, identify patterns and propose preventive measures. Employees receive training in aggression prevention and conflict management, while volunteers are briefed on how to respond to difficult situations, according to the hospital’s account reproduced by Het Nieuwsblad.

That distinction matters. A poster can establish a social boundary, but reporting and analysis allow the hospital to see whether confrontations cluster around a department, time of day, communication failure or recurring safety problem. Imelda says better reporting should also make it easier to support affected workers and target prevention.

The approach is not unique to Bonheiden. In December 2024, VRT NWS reported that hospitals, police, prosecutors and emergency services in Limburg

Waiting is particularly difficult when somebody is frightened, in pain or uncertain about what will happen next. In an emergency department, however, arrival order is not necessarily treatment order: clinical teams prioritise patients according to medical urgency. A later arrival may therefore be seen first without the earlier patient having been forgotten.

If a delay or instruction is unclear, ask the reception desk or responsible nurse for an update and explain any change in symptoms immediately. A useful formulation is: “Could you tell me whether I am still registered and what the next step is?” Staff may not be able to promise an exact time, but they can often clarify the process. Patients who struggle with Dutch can say “Ik spreek niet goed Nederlands” and ask whether an explanation is available in English or French. Language assistance will depend on the department and available staff; Bonheiden is a Dutch-language gemeente in Flanders, so an automatic right to service in English should not be assumed.

For a non-urgent complaint about communication, administration or care, patients can contact the hospital’s ombudsdienst rather than confronting an individual employee. Belgium’s Federal Public Service Public Health explains that every patient has rights including understandable information, informed consent, privacy and access to a complaints-mediation function. The ombuds service is intended to facilitate dialogue and seek a solution; it is not a court and does not impose a judicial sanction.

Anyone facing an immediate medical emergency should call 112. An immediate threat or assault can also require police intervention. Routine dissatisfaction, by contrast, is better documented calmly: note the date, department, people involved and the specific outcome sought, then use the hospital’s complaint channel.

Belgian workplace-welfare rules define workplace violence as a situation in which somebody is psychologically or physically threatened or attacked while working. The Federal Public Service Employment lists threats, blows, verbal intimidation and insults among the possible forms. This means that aggression need not cause a visible injury before it becomes a workplace-safety issue.

The same federal guidance says employers whose staff deal with third parties, including patients and visitors, must adopt a specific prevention policy and maintain a register of incidents involving third parties. When a worker experiences violence, the employer must arrange appropriate psychological support through specialised services. Employees can also approach a confidential counsellor or the prevention adviser for psychosocial matters. Depending on the facts, a victim may report an offence to the police, the labour prosecutor or an investigating judge.

These protections do not remove the hospital’s responsibility to communicate well. Patients and relatives may have legitimate concerns about long waits, confusing instructions or how they were treated. The two principles coexist: hospitals should make their processes understandable and responsive, while patients and visitors must express complaints without abuse or violence.

Imelda’s working group is expected to keep reviewing incident reports and refine prevention and staff support. The main unanswered questions are whether reporting becomes more complete, whether particular departments or situations account for a disproportionate share of incidents, and whether the campaign produces a sustained reduction rather than a temporary rise in awareness. Publishing comparable annual figures and explaining how verbal and physical categories overlap would make that progress easier for patients, staff and the wider Bonheiden community to assess.