Half of doctors abused by patients, report shows

25 May 2010

DOCTORS are facing a rising tide of violence and abuse from patients, a survey from the British Medical Association has revealed.

More than half of doctors were attacked or threatened last year, according to the BMA’s survey of violence in the workplace in Northern Ireland.

It shows GPs are more likely than doctors working in secondary care to be targeted, with 56 per cent of doctors in primary care reporting violence or abuse from patients compared to 53 per cent in secondary care. But despite this trend, doctors said they still want to do their best for patients, with the majority of those surveyed continuing to treat patients in the face of the threat of assaults.

Many incidents involved a perpetrator who already had a history of violence or abuse.

Dr Paul Darragh, Chairman of the BMA’s council in Northern Ireland, who has himself been assaulted in the past, said the findings were “incredibly worrying”. He said: “The abuse is often random, with no particular motivation behind the physical violence. The effect of threats, abuse and assaults impact not only on doctors on the receiving end, but also the wider healthcare team and other patients.

“Although a large proportion of A&E doctors told us that violence is very much a problem in A&E, over 60 per cent of violent or abusive incidents were reported to have occurred in hospital wards. This cannot be allowed to continue”.

The BMA acknowledged some robust measures already exist in primary care – such as panic buttons and protocols for moving violent patients to a different surgery – but said no such provisions exist in hospitals.

Belfast GP Dr Michael McKenna, who been attacked a number of times, said: “It would make sense for a similar robust process to be put in place in hospitals to both identify violent patients and enable doctors and other healthcare professionals to carry out their work in a safe environment.”