Abstract:
The issue of violence against medical personnel inflicted by patients or family members, as a deliberate act, or with intention to threaten or to harm that affects the safety or physical or mental health, is an obstacle to performing medical duty, causing health centers to have staff shortage, more costs and time required for staff replacement or recruitment, as well as affects other patients. This is an important issue that cannot be overlooked and is prioritized globally. Moreover, performing medical duty relates to rights, liberty, safety and health of the patients, which essentially depends on the knowledge, expertise, and experience of the medical personnel, as well as Thailand has no legislative measure that truly protects medical personnel performing medical duty. From the mentioned reasons, this research aims to learn the method to impose criminal measures on protection of medical personnel, with consideration from the principle of protection of medical personnel and war victims, under the International Humanitarian Law, the concept of imposing criminal offense and objectives of penology and punishment, considering protective measures overseas which indicates that violence against medical personnel on duty is a crime and has criminal penalty, both in form of a punishment under an Act, or under the Criminal Code, which would lead to analysis on the need that Thailand must impose on a criminal measure protecting specifically medical personnel or their medical duty, in form of an Act, specifying that violence against medical personnel or their medical duty, including harming or threatening to harm, and damaging medical devices, is a criminal offense, and imposing a heavier penalty to align with economic and social conditions, as a measure to defer offenders from choosing to commit the crime. This would lead to reduction or prevention of violence against property of a medical center onwards.