Maintaining Safe Spaces for Those Who Save Lives
The sound of ambulance sirens cutting through city traffic is often fleeting, drowned out by urban chaos. Yet behind that noise lies a profound struggle: a patient racing against time, families filled with anxiety, and emergency medical teams working swiftly under immense pressure. Behind the doors of the Emergency Department (IGD), every second can determine a life’s fate.
Emergency healthcare workers are the frontline in saving lives. They handle critical conditions ranging from heart attacks and strokes to accidents and other life-threatening situations. Within minutes, or even seconds, they must make crucial decisions that can determine life or death. Yet behind this immense responsibility lies an often overlooked reality: they do not always work in safe conditions.
International reports indicate healthcare workers are among those at high risk of workplace violence. The World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), and International Council of Nurses (ICN) report that 8-38% of healthcare workers have experienced physical violence during their careers, with verbal abuse occurring at much higher rates. More concerning is that many cases go unreported, suggesting the true scale may be greater than recorded data.
This phenomenon persists in Indonesia. Reports show healthcare workers still face verbal threats and physical violence while on duty. Despite their right to legal protection and safety during service, this situation highlights that their protection remains a challenge requiring urgent attention.
Beyond violence, emergency healthcare workers face high workloads. Research shows increased stress and burnout among healthcare staff, particularly post-COVID-19 pandemic. Heavy workloads, shift systems, prolonged psychological pressure, and high service demands affect both physical and emotional well-being. Those in emergency services face higher burnout risks than many other healthcare fields.
Pressure intensifies with rising emergency department (IGD) congestion. High acute care demand, hospital capacity constraints, and increasing patient visits prolong wait times and escalate staff stress. In Indonesia, this is compounded when service demand growth outpaces improvements in referral systems, bed capacity, and patient flow management.
Risks for emergency healthcare workers extend beyond hospitals. Field personnel face safety threats such as injuries during patient transfers, biological hazards, ambulance accidents, and on-duty violence. A dynamic, unpredictable work environment makes staff safety a critical issue demanding urgent attention.
Collectively, these challenges are systemic, not individual. High workloads, fatigue, psychological pressure, workplace violence, and unsafe environments affect healthcare workers’ well-being and compromise patient care quality.
This aligns with Emergency Medicine Day 2026’s theme, ‘Safe Space for Emergency Medicine Teams.’ Safe spaces for emergency staff mean more than physical protection; they encompass supportive work environments, healthy organisational culture, fair work systems, and adequate mental health support. They need workplaces where they can work safely, feel valued, supported, and not face pressures alone.
Creating safe spaces for healthcare workers requires collective effort. Government must strengthen policies and protections for staff. Healthcare facilities need to foster strong safety cultures, implement effective incident reporting systems, and provide ongoing psychosocial support. Society also plays a crucial role through improved health literacy, empathy, and respect for healthcare professionals.
Ultimately, healthcare worker safety is inseparable from patient safety. The WHO underscores the principle ‘Safe health workers, safe patients’, indicating that staff in safe, supportive environments deliver higher-quality care.
On Emergency Medicine Day 2026, appreciation for emergency staff’s dedication is insufficient; efforts must ensure they work in safe, humane, and dignified environments. After all, those who save lives daily deserve to feel safe. (H-4)
IDAI urges healthcare workers to improve communication with parents using Motivational Interviewing to boost childhood vaccination rates. A measles vaccination program targets 1,328 medical and healthcare staff, particularly those in direct patient contact. Indonesia Fact Check evaluates