In the past year, over half of UK doctors have experienced or witnessed abuse from clients or their family members, including instances in which they were spat at, and to the extent, intimidated.
According to a study and dossier of testimonies compiled by a medical organization, doctors experienced numerous forms of harassment, including having their hair pulled out and being forced up against a wall.
However, long waiting times for service and lack of staffs, were identified as the primary causes of what NHS authorities claimed to be a rise in public hostility toward frontline workers.
According to a study conducted by the Medical Protection Society (MPS), 56% of the doctors polled said that, they had either been the victim of or seen verbal or physical abuse in the previous year. Also, nearly half of respondents claimed that, such incidents happened, due to staffing shortages, while 45% attributed it to patients’ dissatisfaction over enduring a long time to receive care.
One physician reported to MPS that, a “patient’s partner threatened to kill me because he felt his wife had waited too long to be seen,” while another doctor claimed that, “I had a handful of my hair ripped out despite the patient being in handcuffs and with the police.”
Moreover, others said they were “backed up against a wall by parents who wanted better nursing for their child in intensive care.” They were completely short of staff, they added. A doctor also reported; “I was verbally and physically abused by a patient because of the time they would have to wait for their operation.”
Though, staffing issues and lengthy waiting times have been “frustrating and stressful” for patients and their families, frontline staff members have been “doing their best in very difficult circumstances,” Professor Jane Dacre, President of the MPS, asserted.
Despite the fact that most contacts with clients are favorable, she said, “it is distressing that, so many healthcare workers face daily verbal and physical abuse from patients, including being spat at and threatened.”
GPs and hospital doctors have both been victims of abuse, with frustration due to scheduled appointments serving as a frequent catalyst.
The Head of British Medical Association Workforce, Dr. Latifa Patel, claimed that the government’s insufficient funding and staff shortages of the NHS, have made it “a shadow of its former self” and prevented it from serving patients, who were frequently in pain and distress, with the care they require promptly.
“However, I urge the public not to take out their exasperation on doctors or our colleagues who share the same frustrations and are acutely aware that waiting times are too long.”
Dr. Latifa Patel, Head of British Medical Association Workforce.
On the other hand, the government has doubled the maximum sentence for those found guilty of attacking emergency workers, because of concerns about violence towards them.
Furthermore, in response to concerns about the mistreatment of personnel, health service executives in London, issued an open letter, warning that “tens of thousands of staff and colleagues working in the NHS in London are confronted with violence and aggression from patients and members of the public simply for going to work.”
According to a poll by the MPS, out of 861 doctors in the UK, 3 out of 10 doctors believe that, the police do not treat such instances seriously enough. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care disclosed that, “violence or misconduct of any kind is unacceptable and has no place in the NHS.”
Due to the rising abuse, some NHS care providers have begun providing workers with bodyworn cameras to deter and document aggressiveness, while others have increased security staffing and installed CCTV.
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