Throughout 2025, a total of 68 attacks on doctors were registered in the province of Las Palmas. This was reported by the College of Physicians of Las Palmas, with data that includes attacks in the Canary Islands Health Service and the private sector. 85% of them correspond to patients with unscheduled appointments and 15% to companions.
The Institution has recalled that this figure includes only the registered cases and that, therefore, the real number may be higher.
Of the total registered, the distribution by islands is located in Gran Canaria (71%), Lanzarote (6%) and Fuerteventura (23%). Among the affected professionals, 54% are women and 46% are men, with a higher incidence in the 46 to 55 age group (38%). Regarding typology, 93% corresponds to threats or coercion (and 7% to harassment), highlighting that 57% of the threats or coercion have been suffered by female doctors.
Additionally, the College stresses that 23% of the cases caused sick leave.
Regarding the areas where the aggressions were registered in 2025, the largest share corresponds to the hospital (40%), followed by Primary Care (22%), hospital emergencies (16%) and Primary Care emergencies (15%). The rest of the areas add up to 7%.
The reason declared in the record is linked in 100% of cases to discrepancies with the medical care received.
Elizabeth Hernández, president of the College, recalled at the press conference that all data presented refer to “registered aggressions: the real number may be higher”. But she warned that “the most serious thing is the impact they leave: they damage the doctor-patient relationship and, with it, the healthcare system. We cannot ask for quality care if we normalize violence in consultation”.
Agreement with the Court of First Instance LPGC
Alongside the data, the College of Physicians of Las Palmas and the Court of First Instance of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria present a collaboration agreement to establish channels of communication and action in the face of aggressions against doctors in the Judicial District of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The objective is to improve the experience of the doctor victim of an aggression when they must go to the City of Justice, reinforcing coordination and accompaniment, and reducing secondary victimization.
Juan Avello, president of the LPGC Court of First Instance, frames the agreement within an essential idea: “justice is a public service that must be centered on people”.
"The agreement contemplates organizational measures at zero cost," revealed Juan Avello, among them a "channel of coordination with the legal counsel of the College to prepare the appearance; accompaniment and orientation on the day of the summons; the provision of early morning appointments when possible; and, when appropriate, the concentration of proceedings on the same day to minimize the impact on care activity."
The College especially values its predisposition to institutional collaboration, the interest shown from the first moment upon learning about the problem of the doctor victim of an aggression and the agility with which a proposal was promoted that today materializes in this agreement.
A reinforced response over time
The College reminds that the response to aggressions has been strengthened in recent years: since 2012 it has an internal protocol for legal advice and accompaniment; in 2015 the penal framework was consolidated with the consideration as an assault crime; in 2017 the figure of the Health Police Liaison was incorporated into the National Police; and in 2026 a new step is taken with this agreement to improve the judicial process for the doctor victim of an aggression.