Leeds GP asks public to "be kind" as poll reveals level of abuse faced by doctors

The new poll from the British Medical Association (BMA) found that more than a third of doctors have faced "recent abuse" from patients or those accompanying them to appointments.

This was even higher among GPs where half said they had been abused in some format during the last month.

The survey of more than 2,400 doctors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland found 37 per cent had been verbally abused by patients, or those accompanying them to appointments, in the past month. This rose to 51 per cent of GPs. One in five GPs reported being threatened and some 34 doctors reported that they had been physically assaulted in the last month.

More than two in five (43 per cent) said that they thought instances of threatening behaviour, violence or verbal abuse from patients had increased over the last year and this extended to nursing staff, receptionists and healthcare assistants also being targeted.

The survey comes after a warning that the NHS waiting list could rise to more than 14 million in England alone by autumn next year and 64 per cent said they believed that the perpetrator was dissatisfied with the service, including access.

In some instances the police were called, in other instances patients were removed from the GP 's list but in half of cases no action was taken.

Dr Richard Vautrey is the BMA GP committee chair and is based at Meanwood Group Practice.

He said: "The last year-and-a-half has been an incredibly challenging time for both doctors and patients, and many doctors share the frustration of their patients around unfamiliar ways of working, or if waiting times are too long.

"However, abuse, violence and threats are absolutely unacceptable and should never be tolerated. GPs and their colleagues are doing their absolute best, day in, day out, to provide care to their local communities, and we know that the vast majority of our patients appreciate the hard work we are doing. However, these findings show an incredibly worrying trend, with GPs reporting rising levels of abuse against staff in general practice, who are already working under intense pressure.

"Facing such abuse leaves doctors fearing for the safety of themselves, their colleagues and their loved ones, which can have a profound effect on their wellbeing. It can leave even the most resilient GP feeling alienated and undervalued, leaving them questioning their career when the NHS can ill afford to lose any more staff in general practice. Meanwhile, being on the receiving end of rudeness can impact productivity and the quality of work, ultimately threatening patient care."

Dr Vautrey also reminded the public to be "kind and considerate" when contacting their surgery as "we are humans too, after all."

Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chair, added: "Doctors may pride themselves on being resilient, but that doesn't mean they should have to put up with being abused, threatened or - in a small number of cases - physically attacked by the very people they are trying to help.

"We understand that when people interact with the health service, they are often in pain and distressed - with the Covid-19 pandemic increasing feelings of apprehension due to services working in different ways, or some treatments being delayed.

"However, we cannot let people take out their frustration at a system on individual doctors or their colleagues who truly are doing their best in the most difficult of situations."