Healthcare workers also wore black ribbons on their uniforms to show solidarity with Dr. Tomasz Solecki’s family and colleagues and to protest violence against medical staff, the Polish Medical Chamber said.
Solecki, 48, was attacked on Tuesday by a 35-year-old patient who stormed into the doctor’s consulting room dissatisfied with his treatment and stabbed him multiple times, according to reports.
“Despite the best efforts of hospital personnel, Dr. Solecki succumbed to his injuries," Kraków University Hospital director Marcin Jędrychowski told reporters.
The assailant, identified as a former patient of the orthopedic ward and a Prison Service employee, was detained at the scene.
"Preliminary inquiries suggest the motive was frustration over perceived shortcomings in care," said a spokesperson for the Kraków-Podgórze District Prosecutor’s Office, which has opened a murder investigation.
Healthcare workers nationwide paused their duties at 11 a.m. to honor Solecki, who had served at the Kraków University Hospital for over 15 years, colleagues said.
"The minute’s silence is not only a tribute to a devoted physician but a statement against violence toward those who dedicate their lives to saving others," the Medical Chamber said in a statement.
On May 10, medics will march through the streets of Warsaw to protest aggression and show solidarity following Solecki’s killing, Polish Medical Chamber head Łukasz Jankowski told state news agency PAP.
Jankowski said the decision was made on Tuesday evening by doctors, nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists, laboratory diagnosticians and pharmacists.
“This march will be an expression of unity by the entire medical community. We will all be there," he said.
Incidents of violence against medical staff have risen in recent years, prompting calls for stronger legal protections.
Last month, the Polish parliament debated tougher penalties for assaults on healthcare professionals, though no new legislation has yet been enacted.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP