A 57-year-old woman has been sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in prison for having threatened and injured her GP.
On September 21, 2021, the woman went to her health centre in Palma and asked the female doctor to prescribe her Lorazepam, a benzodiazepine tranquiliser. The doctor refused because she had already given the woman two prescriptions over previous days. The woman started to insult the doctor, to threaten and attack her. "I'll kill you, if you don't give me the prescription."
Because of this, the doctor prescribed the Lorazepam. The woman left the health centre, picked up the medication at a pharmacy, and was arrested shortly afterwards by the National Police.
The doctor suffered several injuries and had to take leave due to the anxiety caused by the episode. In addition to the prison sentence, the woman was ordered to pay 5,300 euros compensation to the doctor.
The IB-Salut health service welcomed the sentence, stressing that there is "zero tolerance" of aggression towards health professionals.
During the trial, the woman stated that she had been taking Lorazepam for 24 years and that she needed it to be prescribed.